Eddie Jones’s Rugby World Cup checklist: What’s on England head coach’s agenda as countdown to tournament gathers pace July 7, 2019 Starting today, the players selected for England’s Rugby World Cup training squad have five weeks to show head coach Eddie Jones why they deserve a place on the plane to Japan. Last Thursday Jones announced a list of 35, plus three injured players receiving treatment, that he says will be whittled down to the final [...]
Noises Off at the Lyric Hammersmith is a farce in all the wrong ways July 5, 2019 Noises Off is either the worst professional production I’ve seen in some years, or something so groundbreakingly metatextual that I am simply unable to comprehend its brilliance. Noises Off is clearly a huge success; at least historically. The farce debuted at the Lyric in 1982, before going on to multiple runs in the West End [...]
Midsommar review: follow up to Hereditary is an unqualified triumph July 5, 2019 The instant Midsommar finished, I knew I would need to see it again. It has that rare, painterly quality of great horror, the sense that the images you’re seeing will never leave you. Director Ari Aster’s debut Hereditary had it too, though Midsommar is probably the superior film. It has a richer, more constituted vision, [...]
Frank Lampard’s honeymoon period won’t last for long in the Chelsea hotseat July 4, 2019 People stepping out of Fulham Broadway station this afternoon were greeted by the sight of an opportunistic salesman attempting to flog Frank Lampard adorned Chelsea scarves. If you still needed reminding, here was a visual representation of why this was no run-of-the-mill managerial appointment. As the club statement phrased it: “He’s home!” After the generally [...]
Chris Tremlett: England could be peaking at the right time after coming through pressure situations July 3, 2019 What a difference a week makes. England have lifted the gloom that had begun to surround them following two poor performances by embracing the pressure and proving some people wrong. They got themselves into a position where they needed to win two World Cup matches and having come through them in impressive fashion, beating India [...]
Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow’s brilliant opening partnership the key to England’s World Cup chances July 3, 2019 The conduct of Ben Stokes and Alex Hales on 25 September 2017 outside a Bristol nightclub may have sent shockwaves through England’s cricket team, but it also had a knock-on effect which has played a huge part in making them the side they are today – a side in a World Cup semi-final for the [...]
England 1-2 United States: Lionesses’ frenetic play trumped by controlled game plan in Women’s World Cup semi-final July 2, 2019 In the end, a familiar feeling. Sinking to the turf, overcome with emotion. Not for the first time England were knocked out of the World Cup in the semi-finals. Phil Neville said in the build-up anything other than progression to the final would amount to failure and judged in the harshest terms he was right: [...]
England v United States: Phil Neville seeks World Cup final as crowning moment of his personal turnaround July 1, 2019 As soon as Phil Neville was announced as manager of the England women’s football team in January 2018 he was on the back foot. Questions over his suitability for the job and experience were swiftly followed by a media storm as historic tweets surfaced in which he made comments disparaging to women. Given his predecessor, [...]
Golf has helped Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Nate Lashley turn their lives around July 1, 2019 Golf throws up some wonderful stories and this week’s two first-time winners on the main tours – Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Nate Lashley – are the perfect illustration. South African Bezuidenhout claimed his maiden European Tour title in fabulous style at the Andalucia Masters at Valderrama on Sunday. He stood up to everything that a high-class [...]
Wimbledon 2019: Believe it or not, tennis is a sport in decline July 1, 2019 Wimbledon is once again nearly upon us. And despite the munificence of the championships and inspirational successes of Andy Murray, it is a staggering indictment that the long-term trend is a declining sport, turning over £1.5bn per annum. Read more: Wimbledon men’s tennis is still finding its titanic trio hard to replace In its latest [...]