I know what a World Cup axe feels like August 27, 2015 Ex-England No10 Charlie Hodgson tells Ross McLean that Lancaster can’t win THERE is simply no mechanism for cushioning the heart-rending blow of missing the final cut for your country’s Rugby World Cup squad. That is the view of Saracens fly-half Charlie Hodgson as England head coach Stuart Lancaster today prepares to name his 31-man party [...]
Farah refuses to be fall guy in 5,000m August 27, 2015 BRITAIN’S Mo Farah hopes to dodge the three strikes and you’re out mantra after suffering a scare in his bid for a long-distance double at the World Athletics Championship in Beijing yesterday. Defending champion Farah – hunting a record-breaking third twin title at major global events – qualified for Saturday’s 5,000m final second in his [...]
Champions League: Rooney finds scoring touch in Euro romp August 27, 2015 CLUB BRUGGE 0 MANCHESTER UNITED 4 MANCHESTER UNITED WIN 7-1 ON AGGREGATE SKIPPER Wayne Rooney admitted that his status in the game makes harsher scrutiny inevitable should he suffer a goal drought after catapulting his side to the Champions League group stages with a hat-trick against Club Brugge last night. England captain Rooney ended a [...]
Cipriani set for Rugby World Cup heartache August 26, 2015 SALE fly-half Danny Cipriani is expected to be the highest-profile casualty when England head coach Stuart Lancaster confirms his final squad for next month’s Rugby World Cup today. The versatile 27-year-old is set to miss out on the home tournament, with Lancaster tipped to pick George Ford and Owen Farrell as fly-halves and Mike Brown [...]
England keep alive Ashes hopes August 26, 2015 ENGLAND revived their hopes of retaining the Women’s Ashes by recording a commanding seven-wicket success over Australia in their first T20 tussle at Chelmsford last night. A half-century from Sarah Taylor, who had struggled for form in the series, proved the bedrock of the England reply as they chased down a victory target of 123 [...]
Spurs switch attention to £18m Son August 26, 2015 TOTTENHAM have turned their attention to signing South Korea forward Heung-Min Son from Bayer Leverkusen after failing to persuade West Brom to sell Saido Berahino. Son, who has scored 29 goals in 87 appearances for the German club and can play anywhere across the front three, was left out of their Champions League fixture with [...]
Hughes joins grudge pair in 200m final August 26, 2015 SPRINT kings Usain Bolt and Justin Gatlin will be joined in their 200m showdown by British youngster Zharnel Hughes after all three won their semi-finals at the World Athletics Championships yesterday. Six-time Olympic champion Bolt struck the first blow in his duel with Gatlin by winning the 100m on Sunday in Beijing and eased into [...]
Moeen Ali not viable option to open August 26, 2015 With Adam Lyth set to be dropped for England’s series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates this autumn, I can understand talk of Moeen Ali being promoted to opener but I am not in favour of it. At best it is a short-term solution. It would allow England to get two spinners into the [...]
Champions League failure would be disaster but I worry for Manchester United August 26, 2015 They’ll be holding their breath in the Manchester United boardroom tonight when a stuttering side look to finish the job against Club Brugge and seal a return to the Champions League. This tie is nothing short of massive for a club of United’s stature. It is fundamental to retaining their standing among the world’s biggest [...]
Tim Henman: Impending fatherhood will help Andy Murray win grand slams August 26, 2015 Former British No1 Tim Henman believes Andy Murray has mastered his self-destructive tendencies to hit the form of his career, and expects the Scot’s imminent fatherhood to encourage that trend. Murray heads to the US Open next week buoyed by a strong start to the hard-court season, which followed his virtually single-handed defeat of [...]