Borthwick in no mood to bow to critics February 25, 2010 DEFIANT England captain Steve Borthwick is refusing to back down over his controversial appraisal of the team’s performance against Italy. Borthwick, whose side face Ireland tomorrow, prompted raised eyebrows when he described elements of England’s play during the 17-12 win in Rome as “fantastic”. A workmanlike win drew little praise elsewhere, however, with even England [...]
Gerrard creates history February 25, 2010 UNIREA URZICENI (1) v/s LIVERPOOL (3) LIVERPOOL boss Rafael Benitez hailed his side’s resilience after they came back from an early scare to set up a last 16 tie against Lille. Unirea levelled the tie on aggregate with a Joao Bruno Fernandes header after 18 minutes but the Reds hit back through Javier Mascherano, before [...]
Capello’s is a team in crisis February 25, 2010 FOUR months ago, it was all sweetness and light. Now, it’s a total mess. With the World Cup getting ever closer and England losing another key player in Wayne Bridge, this is suddenly a team in crisis and Capello must be pulling his hair out. Let’s go through the side as it stands. Our No1 [...]
Arsenal’s Gibbs is back in the frame, says Wenger February 25, 2010 ARSENAL boss Arsene Wenger believes injured left-back Kieran Gibbs could recover in time to sneak into England’s World Cup squad. Wayne Bridge’s international retirement has moved highly-rated Under-21 star Gibbs further up the pecking order. The 20-year-old is still in a cast after multiple operations on a broken foot bone but is on course to [...]
Super 14 ref will make for a lively game February 25, 2010 IRELAND’S trip to face England in the Six Nations this weekend is the most fascinating northern hemisphere match-up there has been in a long, long time. Much of the reason for that is South African official Mark Lawrence, who takes over the whistle for Saturday having officiated in Super 14 matches this season. Mark, as [...]
We must step up our game to beat French, says Williams February 25, 2010 FLANKER Martyn Williams insists Wales have to step up to the mark when they host tournament favourites France in Cardiff tonight. The Cardiff Blues star is set to equal Colin Charvis’ 94-cap Test best for a Wales forward, but knows there will need to be a significant improvement if it is to prove a winning [...]
Every start is precious for Kellock after Azzurri axe February 25, 2010 SECOND-ROW Alastair Kellock will be hoping history does not repeat itself when his Scotland side face Italy tomorrow – even though they rallied to a record win. The Glasgow Warrior was making his first international start in two years against the Azzurri at Murrayfield 12 months ago – and helped them record a biggest ever [...]
We’ve not under-performed insist British Olympic chiefs February 25, 2010 BRITISH Olympic Association officials have defended the performance of their team in Vancouver after admitting they would miss the three medal target set by UK Sport. Chief executive Andy Hunt was keen to accentuate the positive, underlining his point with statistics. While skeleton gold for Amy Williams represents an improvement on Shelley Rudman’s solitary silver [...]
Minichiello horror as British pair crash out February 25, 2010 DEVASTATED Nicola Minichiello spoke of her heartache after crashing out of the bobsleigh to cap a disappointing night for Great Britain’s medal hopefuls. Minichiello’s medal dreams were dashed when she lost control of the sled on the third run, causing it to flip over and trap her and partner Gillian Cooke inside. The pair were [...]
Prior shows his mettle to lead England to victory February 25, 2010 HALF-CENTURIES from captain Alastair Cook and Matt Prior helped England to a second warm-up victory over a Bangladesh Cricket Board XI in Fatullah. Opener Cook retired on 52, while Prior, who left wicketkeeping duties to new sensation Craig Kieswetter, added a fine 64no off 57 balls as the tourists cruised to a seven-wicket success. But [...]