Ollie Phillips: England’s World Cup hopefuls face baptism of fire in Cardiff against Wales August 15, 2019 Eddie Jones is keen to have a good look at new recruits in the warm-ups ahead of the World Cup, and after missing out last weekend through injury, what a baptism of fire it will be for Ruaridh McConnochie in Cardiff on Saturday. Barring glaring omissions in Danny Cipriani and Alex Goode, Jones has committed [...]
Batting failures once again define England’s performance in second Ashes Test at Lord’s August 15, 2019 We don’t yet know the exact nature of the position England find themselves in after the first day’s play at Lord’s against Australia – being Test cricket it could be anywhere from disastrous to advantageous on the sliding scale – but what we can be certain of is that the same frailties were evident. England lost [...]
Once Upon A time In Hollywood review: Another classic from Quentin Tarantino August 15, 2019 Even in a summer dominated by Disney, the 9th film from Quentin Tarantino demands attention. The promise of the Pulp Fiction director’s take on The Manson Family has resulted in the biggest opening weekend ever for a Tarantino film, giving a small flicker of hope to anyone who sees a cinematic future beyond remakes and [...]
Brainiac Live review: Anarchic science stunts for kids who are really into loud noises August 15, 2019 Sky One’s Brainiac television show feels like it aired approximately one hundred years ago, in the foreign land that is the years 2003 to 2008. Fronted by Top Gear man Richard Hammond, and then later by the excellent Vic Reeves, it was a vehicle for pop-science tomfoolery and explosive hijinkery which deftly walked the intellectual [...]
Adrian the hero but Pulisic and Firmino impress in Liverpool’s Super Cup victory over Chelsea on penalties August 14, 2019 Adrian played just five times for West Ham last season – all cup games, the last of which was a miserable FA Cup defeat against AFC Wimbledon in January. Over the summer he was without a contract, training alone. Fast-forward to just his second game for Liverpool, and his first start for his new club [...]
English footballers are back in vogue in the Premier League: Why a no-deal Brexit means it is a sign of things to come August 14, 2019 “That is a conundrum that we have to solve,” said Gareth Southgate in December last year, addressing the increasingly marginal status of English footballers in the Premier League. The England manager was speaking after the number of native players hit an all-time low, with just 54 of the 220 who had been named in starting [...]
Evita at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre review: A gripping, modern revision of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s classic August 14, 2019 The Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre is ending this summer’s season with a bang – quite literally. Within five minutes of this new production of Evita – the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical about the rags-to-riches story of Argentina’s 1940s first lady – the audience is jolted by fireworks, towers of flames and football-match-style flares. It [...]
Chris Tremlett: England need classic Lord’s conditions to level the Ashes against confident Australia August 13, 2019 Spring-like weather has hit London over the last few days and, with the second Ashes Test starting tomorrow morning at Lord’s, England will be hoping April showers don’t ruin their chances of levelling the series. Having been beaten by Australia at Edgbaston, England really need the conditions to be on their side over the next [...]
Hazards of the Dukes: Why England cannot rely on the mysterious commodity of swing to win the Ashes August 13, 2019 It’s a mystical, erratic but vital element of Test cricket. Batsmen hate it. Pace bowlers thrive on it. Swing is the backbone of the contest between bat and ball – a sought-after, match-winning commodity which flits in and out of existence throughout the ebbs and flows of a game. And yet it remains largely misunderstood. Shine [...]
Ruaridh McConnochie’s World Cup selection shows Eddie Jones’s methodology with England August 12, 2019 A year ago, Ruaridh McConnochie had not played a single top-flight match of rugby union. Today, despite still never having played competitively for England, he was named in Eddie Jones’s 31-man squad for the Rugby World Cup next month. It was a momentous day in McConnochie’s career and one entirely in keeping with a whirlwind [...]