Forward thinking: Eddie Jones reveals unorthodox idea to field nine forwards ahead of England’s Six Nations campaign January 17, 2019 Eddie Jones is no stranger to causing a stir, and in his first media appearance of a World Cup year he was at it again. The England head coach said on Thursday, as he named his squad for the Six Nations opener against Ireland on 2 February, that he is considering turning conventional wisdom on [...]
Arsenal v Chelsea preview: London clubs meet in “small final” for Premier League top four with cracks appearing January 17, 2019 This season was supposed to be about fresh starts for Arsenal and Chelsea. With new managers in place, there was renewed optimism for the future. Unai Emery was the man to step into the void following Arsene Wenger’s long-awaited departure from Arsenal after 22 years, while Maurizio Sarri succeeded Antonio Conte to become the latest [...]
Ollie Phillips: England’s exciting back line can trouble any team in crucial Six Nations January 17, 2019 Eddie Jones announcing his squad for the Six Nations yesterday marks the start of a make-or-break period for the England coach. England can’t feel their way into the competition, with defending champions Ireland up first in Dublin on 2 February, so Jones has named 35 fit and in-form players. With big challenges ahead in this [...]
Beautiful Boy film review: Steve Carell and Timothée Chalamet star in harrowing but flawed drug addiction memoir January 17, 2019 The drug movie is a tough genre to navigate. Go too far in one direction and it becomes preachy; too far in the other and you end up glamourising the fetid reality of addiction. Beautiful Boy is drawn from a pair of memoirs by the journalist David Sheff and his son Nicolas, and relates the [...]
Saint Claudio: Ranieri will have to pull off another miracle if Fulham are to survive January 17, 2019 When it rains, it pours. And when fighting relegation down at the bottom of the Premier League table, it can seem as though everything is going wrong. It felt that way for David Wagner, who left basement club Huddersfield earlier this week, and it must feel that way for Claudio Ranieri, whose Fulham players recently [...]
The Raft review: A bizarre experiment to determine whether humans are naturally violent has predictably sexy consequences January 17, 2019 In 1973, Spanish-Mexican anthropologist and human behavioural psychologist Santiago Genoves stuck 11 strangers on a raft and sent them on a three-month voyage across the Atlantic. The ethically dubious experiment, which today sounds like the premise of a terrible reality TV show, is the subject of this gripping documentary, and was intended to determine whether [...]
Chris Tremlett: England need to avoid complacency and put to bed their poor record in the West Indies January 16, 2019 England may not have a good record in the West Indies, but I feel they really should be winning the Test series in the Caribbean this time. Joe Root’s side begin the three-Test campaign in Barbados next Wednesday as favourites. They are full of confidence and equipped with a stronger side on paper. England have [...]
Premiership faces having just one team in Champions Cup quarter-final unless Exeter Chiefs pull off an historic win at Munster January 16, 2019 England's hopes of having more than one team in the European Champions Cup quarter-finals were given a lifeline last weekend as Exeter Chiefs rallied to a bonus point win over Castres at Sandy Park. Despite that statement performance, the Chiefs will have to gather themselves and go again this weekend if they are to progress [...]
London could get second NBA game as basketball league considers European expansion January 16, 2019 Tickets are like gold dust, those who manage to buy them flock from across continental Europe to London just for the privilege, and celebrities clamour to be courtside. By most metrics, the NBA’s annual regular-season game at the O2 is a resounding success. This year’s match, which sees the New York Knicks take on the [...]
The Hundred shows Tom Harrison and the ECB putting all of its eggs into one basket – will the gamble pay off? January 15, 2019 For a competition that doesn’t yet exist The Hundred – if, as expected, that is what it will eventually be called – has caused an awful lot of consternation. Since being announced in April, information about the new 100-ball format has leaked gradually, like a broken tap, with each drop prompting more questions than the [...]