Lions have high hopes for second Test June 24, 2009 BRITISH and Irish Lions coach Shaun Edwards believes extreme altitude training will stop their Test series hopes disappearing into thin air on Saturday. A fixture the Lions cannot afford to lose will be made even harder by its location: Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria, some 5,000 feet above sea level. The tourists struggled with similarly gruelling [...]
Real ready to gazump United for both Benzema and Ribery June 24, 2009 MANCHESTER UNITED look set to be beaten to two of their principal summer targets by Real Madrid, after the cash-soaked Spanish club edged ahead in the race for Franck Ribery and emerged as rivals for his France colleague Karim Benzema. United have identified £50m-rated Bayern Munich winger Ribery as a potential replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo, [...]
Rashid ready to ignite Ashes June 24, 2009 THE NOTABLE omission from this year’s Ashes squad of Michael Vaughan and Steve Harmison, two of the stars of the 2005 triumph, may have grabbed the headlines, but I’m more interested in the role ear-marked for Adil Rashid. The Yorkshire 21-year-old is one of three spin-bowlers in the 16-man training squad and stands a decent [...]
Sussex give Aussies a workout June 24, 2009 CRICKET: Australia recovered from early losses to reach 349-7 at stumps on day one as they began their Ashes preparations with a tour match against Sussex. The tourists slipped to 114-5 after losing opener Phil Hughes (15) and captain Ricky Ponting (8) but Michael Clarke (45) and Brad Haddin took up the fight before Brett [...]
Harrington slump shocks Rory June 24, 2009 GOLF: Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy has backed Open champion Padraig Harrington to rediscover his form in time for next month’s defence at Turnberry. Harrington won two majors in a glorious 2008 season but has missed five of the last six cuts. McIlroy said: “I think everyone is surprised. A three-time major winner then to have [...]
Tigers kick off defence at Sale June 24, 2009 RUGBY UNION: Premiership champions Leicester will begin their defence away to Sale on the first weekend in September. The traditional curtain-raising London double-header at Twickenham will see Saracens play last-year’s runners-up London Irish and Wasps face Harlequins. Gloucester host a west country derby against Bath while newly-promoted Leeds Carnegie meet Newcastle. Northampton will play Worcester, [...]
Queensland clinch State of Origin June 24, 2009 RUGBY LEAGUE: Queensland sealed a record fourth successive victory in the State of Origin series with a 24-14 win over New South Wales yesterday. The Maroons capitalised on early errors to storm into an 18-0 lead in front of a capacity crowd of more than 80,000 at the ANZ Stadium in Sydney. And despite a [...]
FOOTBALL IN BRIEF June 24, 2009 Pato prefers Milan to ChelseaAC MILAN striker Alexandre Pato has delivered a snub to Chelsea by insisting he wants to remain at the Italian club. Pato, 19, is reported to be wanted at Stamford Bridge by manager Carlo Ancelotti, who was until last month his coach at Milan. But the £30m-rated Brazilian said: “Pato will [...]
Murray stretched as gutsy Kendrick gives Scot a scare June 23, 2009 IF Andy Murray had been under any illusion that his Wimbledon campaign would be a mere procession to the final then he was rudely snapped out of it yesterday by Robert Kendrick. World No3 Murray may have beaten his American opponent 7-5, 6-7 (3-7), 6-3, 6-4 to reach round two, but not before his title [...]
Brit Elena shows teary Keothavong how to do it June 23, 2009 BRITISH women’s No2 Elena Baltacha provided the silver lining after seeing all her compatriots, including No1 Anne Keothavong, dumped out in the first round. Baltacha, who reached the third round in 2002, sprung a major upset by beating world No33 Alona Bondarenko 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. The Scot, ranked No106, punished an error-ridden performance from her [...]