French fancied to pile on the points in Paris March 18, 2010 FRANCE V/S ENGLAND TOMORROW-7.45PM-BBC1 FRANCE have historically tended to do well in Six Nations tournaments after Lions Tours but to suggest that their faultless record this year is due to the relative tiredness of their opponents is unfair. Marc Lièvremont’s side have been sublime at times over the last six weeks and a comparison of [...]
Wilkinson critics placated as Johnson abandons No10 March 17, 2010 ENGLAND fly-half Jonny Wilkinson has paid the price for a series of underwhelming displays and been dropped for only the third time in his long and distinguished international career. Wilkinson, who kicked England to World Cup glory in 2003 and has scored more points at Test level than any other player, is the most eye-catching [...]
European exit could shatter Blues’ season March 17, 2010 IT could take a game or two before the full extent of the damage manifests itself, but I think defeat to Inter Milan will prove to be a huge blow for Chelsea. More than just ending their Champions League campaign, the impact threatens to derail their challenge for two other trophies. After Tuesday’s deserved loss, [...]
Terry crash probe after man injured March 17, 2010 CHELSEA captain John Terry was breathalysed and quizzed by police after his car collided with a club employee following Tuesday night’s defeat to Inter Milan. Terry’s Range Rover struck deputy security manager Steve Rowley at low speed as the England star drove out of Stamford Bridge through a crowd following the Champions League last-16 match. [...]
Masterful Big Zeb triumphs in Chase March 17, 2010 TRAINER Colm Murphy hailed Big Zeb’s improvement after the 10-1 shot left hot favourite Master Minded trailing in his wake to land the Queen Mother Champion Chase, the highlight on day two of the Cheltenham Festival. All the pre-race talk at Prestbury Park had been of whether Master Minded, ridden by Ruby Walsh, could match [...]
Walsh dusts himself down to scoop record-breaking 26th Festival win March 17, 2010 JOCKEY Ruby Walsh brushed off his disappointment in the Champion Chase, as well as two earlier falls, to achieve a record-breaking 26th Cheltenham Festival winner. Walsh finally prevailed on Sanctuaire in the Juvenile Novices’ Hurdle to break Pat Taaffe’s all-time record and, with only the second win by a favourite in 12 races, hand punters [...]
Barca and Bordeaux book spots in quarter-finals March 17, 2010 BARCELONA and Bordeaux last night ensured there would be no more upsets at the Champions League’s last 16 stage, but it is still with mild relief that England’s surviving duo will regard the list of potential quarter-final opponents. Gone are the stratospherically expensive yet fallible Real Madrid, big-hitters AC Milan, and Chelsea, who ranked among [...]
Portsmouth 17 points from safety after penalty imposed March 17, 2010 PORTSMOUTH administrator Andrew Andronikou has pointed the finger at former chief executive Peter Storrie for the financial crisis that has doomed the club to relegation to the Championship. The Premier League yesterday confirmed that Pompey have been docked nine points – the standard penalty for going into administration – leaving them 17 points from safety [...]
SPORT | IN BRIEF March 17, 2010 Lloyd quits as Davis Cup skipper TENNIS: Great Britain Davis Cup captain John Lloyd last night resigned from the much-maligned role. National chiefs the Lawn Tennis Association ordered a review after Britain’s humiliating defeat to Lithuania earlier this month. They now face a play-off against Turkey in July to avoid relegation to the competition’s lowest [...]
Dowie takes reins at struggling Hull March 17, 2010 HULL chairman Adam Pearson has admitted that replacing manager Phil Brown with Iain Dowie with nine games remaining is a gamble. Dowie was yesterday presented as the new Tigers boss and Pearson said: “Everything in football is a risk to some degree but we’ve won six games out of 51. If we didn’t take a [...]