THREE KEY CLASHES | WITH KYRAN BRACKEN March 10, 2011 TOBY FLOOD vs TOBY FLOOD The most crucial battle of the match and Scotland are making a big mistake by picking Jackson at fly-half ahead of the more experienced Dan Parks. Jackson is talented and I’m sure he’ll go on to play many times but Scotland looked dangerous when Parks came on against Ireland. The [...]
England must find another gear March 10, 2011 THE Grand Slam might be there for the taking, but it would be premature in the extreme to compare this current England team to the class of 2003. True, there is a certain amount of symmetry in that a first RBS 6 Nations clean sweep in eight years is likely to boil down to winning [...]
Wenger after emergency keeper March 10, 2011 FOOTBALL: Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is looking into the possibility of an emergency loan with Manuel Almunia the only senior goalkeeper available for tomorrow’s FA Cup quarter final against Manchester United. Lukasz Fabianski is out for the season and Wojciech Szczesny is yet to discover the full extent of the finger injury he picked up [...]
Euro defeats for Premier pair March 10, 2011 FOOTBALL: Liverpool and Manchester City must overcome first leg defeats if they are to reach the last eight of the Europa League. Liverpool crashed 1-0 in Braga, while City were beaten 2-0 in Ukraine by Dynamo Kiev for whom Andrey Shevchenko was on target.
Strauss aware of Tigers threat March 10, 2011 CRICKET: England captain Andrew Strauss insists that despite 13 victories in their last 14 matches against Bangladesh, including six successive away wins, his side will not underestimate today’s World Cup opponents. He said: “Bangladesh are a dangerous side, especially at home. We are aware it’s a must-win game for them and that will make them [...]
2012 cash dispute going to court March 10, 2011 OLYMPICS: The British Olympic Association (BOA) is taking its dispute with the organisers of the London 2012 Games to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. The BOA feels it deserves a bigger cut from the organisers, LOCOG, of any surplus generated from the Games. BOA spokesman Darryl Seibel said: “We have filed a formal petition [...]
Ruby a diamond bet at 13/8 to be top jockey March 10, 2011 IT’S been a winter to forget for Ruby Walsh. Everything was looking good in early November when he landed a big race double at Down Royal with Kauto Star and The Nightingale. Things took a turn for the worse in the next, though, when he fell from Corrick Bridge, broke his leg and faced an [...]
COUNTDOWN TO CHELTENHAM March 10, 2011 Martin Pipe was a master at plotting a horse for one of the big handicaps at Cheltenham and his son David is following in his footsteps. The one I can see shortening markedly over the next few days is I’MSINGINGTHEBLUES in the Grand Annual. He hasn’t won for over two years, but this has been [...]
In-form Moore to strike with Via Galilei in Imperial Cup March 10, 2011 WE are now only four days away from the start of the Cheltenham Festival and tomorrow’s Paddy Power Imperial Cup at Sandown (3.00pm) gives us one last chance to garner some extra clues. The sponsors are putting up a £75,000 bonus for a horse that wins tomorrow and at the Festival. The only place to [...]
The INSIDER March 10, 2011 It’s been a while since my last confession, but I’m back, just in time for the Cheltenham Festival. Is it really 12 months since the Prestbury Park roar welcomed the release of the starting tapes for the Supreme Novices’? Let’s hope we can again find the winner of the first and give ourselves a huge [...]