Exeter Chiefs seal promotion May 26, 2010 RUGBY UNION: The Exeter Chiefs clinched promotion to the Guinness Premiership for the first time in their history last night after sealing a 29-10 victory over Bristol in the Championship play-off. Stand-off Gareth Steenson kicked six penalties and two drop goals before Luke Arscott added a late try as the Chiefs clinched a 38-16 aggregate [...]
Barry’s hopes still hang in the balance May 25, 2010 GARETH BARRY has been given until the last possible minute to prove his World Cup fitness after undergoing scans on his injured ankle. The Manchester City midfielder saw a specialist last night to determine the severity of the ligament damage suffered in the penultimate league game against Tottenham earlier this month. City initially set Barry’s [...]
CAPELLO’S DILEMMAS May 25, 2010 IT IS hard to know what Fabio Capello is thinking at the best of times; that lived-in face betrays few emotions aside from rage. But if the inscrutable Italian already knows his 23 for the World Cup, and his favoured starting XI, he is doing a good job of hiding it. Monday’s lacklustre win over [...]
King confident body will cope with England duty May 25, 2010 ENGLAND defender Ledley King insists his injury-ravaged knees can cope with the demands of playing a key role at the World Cup. King capped a fine season with Tottenham by making his first international appearance for three years in Monday’s friendly defeat of Mexico. The 29-year-old is now widely tipped to be part of Fabio [...]
Hleb warns Cesc: Don’t make same mistake as me May 25, 2010 FORMER Arsenal star Alexander Hleb last night urged Cesc Fabregas not to make the same mistake as him and leave the Gunners for Barcelona. Hleb joined the Catalan giants in a £13m deal in 2008 but found first-team opportunities limited at Camp Nou and was eventually packed off to former club Stuttgart on loan. Like [...]
Co-owners Gold and Sullivan raise the stakes for Hammers May 25, 2010 WEST HAM co-owners David Sullivan and David Gold splashed out £8m yesterday – to increase their stake in the club. The pair, who brought 50 per cent of the Upton Park club from Icelandic group CB Holdings in January, have now increased their shares from 25 per cent each to 30 per cent. Sullivan and [...]
Borthwick in Sarries final starting role May 25, 2010 ENGLAND captain Steve Borthwick will make his first start for almost three months when he leads Saracens into battle in their first ever Premiership final on Saturday. Borthwick has been given the green light to face Leicester at Twickenham by director of rugby Brendan Venter after proving he has recovered from a knee injury. The [...]
It’s D-Day for Venter as appeal decision awaits May 25, 2010 SARACENS director of rugby Brendan Venter will discover tonight whether his touchline ban will be overturned for Saturday’s Premiership final with Leicester at Twickenham. Venter was handed a 14-week ban by an RFU disciplinary panel last week for “making provocative and inappropriate gestures” during the league game against the Tigers on 8 May. The South [...]
I’ll battle on, vows out-of-sorts Safina May 25, 2010 AILING Dinara Safina insists she can rediscover her best form despite crashing out of the French Open to a 39-year-old ex-retiree at Roland Garros. Former world No1 Safina, now seeded ninth after falling down the rankings, continued her miserable 2010 with a 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 defeat to Japan’s Kimiko Date Krumm, who only returned to [...]
Morgan taken aback by Test chance May 25, 2010 TWENTY20 world-beater Eoin Morgan has admitted his shock at being called up to England’s Test squad, but does not believe he will have trouble reproducing his one-day heroics in the longer form of the game. Morgan’s inclusion in a 12-man squad for the two-match series against Bangladesh, starting tomorrow at Lord’s, is a reward for [...]