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Brilliant England demolish All Blacks to reach World Cup final

Published in Rugby
Saturday, 26 October 2019 03:40

England are into their first Rugby World Cup final in 12 years after a brilliant demolition of three-time world champions New Zealand.

England had stormed into a 10-0 lead, Manu Tuilagi's second-minute try and a long-range penalty from George Ford fitting reward for a blistering first half.

The 2003 winners could have been out of sight had tries for Sam Underhill and Ben Youngs not been ruled out by the video referee, but when Ardie Savea pounced on a wayward line-out throw to reduce the deficit to 13-7 the three-time world champions were on the charge.

Yet the superb Ford landed a trio of nerveless penalties and with the young dynamos Underhill and Tom Curry outstanding in the back row England held on in style to pull off one of their greatest victories.

The All Blacks had not lost a World Cup game in 12 years and had won 15 of the past 16 games between the two nations.

But England tore the crown from their head with a performance of unremitting energy and excellence on a night for the ages in Yokohama.

England nail perfect 10 in breathless first half

It was a start Eddie Jones' men would have dreamed of.

Anthony Watson escaped down the right, England came in white-shirted waves and after Kyle Sinckler and Courtney Lawes crashed on, Tuilagi dived over from two metres out.

Farrell landed the conversion for 7-0 with only two minutes on the clock - and when Tuilagi picked off a stray pass from Beauden Barrett and found Jonny May accelerating up on his outside shoulder it looked for all the world like a second try, only for flanker Scott Barrett to get across and force the winger inside and into heavy traffic.

The pace was ferocious, England playing with a glorious tempo and precision, New Zealand using full-back Barrett as playmaker as they struggled to exert their usual control.

England went close again before Owen Farrell spilt the ball deep in the opposition 22, and then a possible try for Underhill was correctly ruled out because Curry's run had blocked off two defenders.

But Jones' men were dominating the set-piece and the breakdown, Ford sending a long-range drop goal just to the right of the posts as England searched for the points to match their endeavour.

The points finally came right on the half-time gong after Underhill won a breakdown penalty, and Ford - with Farrell struggling with a leg injury - landed a precious three points from 45 metres out.

Champions dethroned by unremitting England

If 10-0 was the least England's dominance merited, it was a remarkable enough half-time scoreline.

Only once before have the All Blacks failed to score a point in the first half of a World Cup game, and not in 28 years.

Steve Hansen threw on Sam Cane for Scott Barrett in the second period but it was England who appeared to have struck the killer blow when Youngs darted over off a driving maul.

With the most kickable of conversions to come it looked like 17-0 and the game - but as Ford stood over his tee the big screens in the stadium showed a knock-on in the maul, and referee Nigel Owens, in consultation with the TMO, chalked it off to choruses of boos from the vast English support.

But Henry Slade came on for the struggling May and Dan Cole for a spent Sinckler and the white tide came again.

This time it was Billy Vunipola digging for the turnover, and with New Zealand infringing again in front of the posts Ford made it 13-0.

England were dreaming, but with 24 minutes still to go disaster struck.

Jamie George over-threw his line-out jumpers five metres from his own try-line, and Savea ran on to the ball and gratefully flopped over.

With Richie Mo'unga sliding over the conversion it was suddenly 13-7 and the outcome right back in the balance.

In a battle of heavyweights it was England who landed the next jab through Ford's third penalty after another tenderising tackle by the indefatigable Underhill.

And with tournament favourites New Zealand running out of ideas as the game entered its dying moments and English tacklers pummelling their ball-carriers, Jones had pulled off yet another underdog triumph.

Man of the match - Sam Underhill (England)

'We've come here to be world's best'

England head coach Eddie Jones on BBC Radio 5 Live: "What we've done is earn another week in the comp, which is great. I thought our tactical discipline was great, our defensive work-rate was good. I thought when we had opportunities to attack, we attacked well.

"You want to go right to the death and we're in the death now. We've got another week to enjoy ourselves and work as a team. Our players made a commitment to each other that they'd enjoy the World Cup and I think we're seeing that.

"Whenever you play against New Zealand, you're never happy. You might beat them on the scoreboard but you never really beat them. They kept coming at us and we needed to dig deep and a find a bit extra.

"We've come here to be the world's best and we haven't done that yet, so that's where we need to go."

New Zealand head coach Steve Hansen: "Congratulations to England - they played a tremendous game of footy and deserved to win. You cannot give them half a step, but they took it.

"I am really proud of our team. They have done a tremendous job, but we were not good enough. We take it on the chin. The boys tried their guts out and I am proud of them."

Reaction - 'England close to invincible'

England World Cup winner Matt Dawson on BBC Radio 5 Live: "They are now in the final, which makes this next week so much easier, so much more relaxed. They don't need to do much work; they can rest up, focus on the opposition, do loads of video analysis - if they do the detail for next week as much as they did today they are close to invincible."

Former England fly-half Paul Grayson: "England got it absolutely right. The quality of some of the tackling - you were never two passes away from a dominant hit and they picked when to go in and compete almost perfectly. England spent the whole of the second half forcing New Zealand to play out from their own third. They were physically and mentally dominant today."

Former New Zealand fly-half Andrew Mehrtens: "Steve Hansen has been part of a group that has left them in a position for sustainable success. He's broadened and strengthened the depth of the squad. He's done amazing things for New Zealand rugby, so he won't be judged for this performance, but he'll be bitterly disappointed.

"New Zealand haven't been exposed to that level of physicality and intensity maybe since 2012. England were able to shut down the key players tonight."

England end All Blacks' winning run - the stats

England: Daly; Watson, Tuilagi, Farrell (capt), May; Ford, Youngs; M Vunipola, George, Sinckler, Itoje, Lawes, Curry, Underhill, B Vunipola.

Replacements: Cowan-Dickie, Marler, Cole, Kruis, Wilson, Heinz, Slade, Joseph.

New Zealand: B Barrett; Reece, Goodhue, Lienert-Brown, Bridge; Mo'unga, Smith; Moody, Taylor, Laulala, Retallick, Whitelock, Barrett, Savea, Read (capt).

Replacements: Coles, Tuungafasi, Ta'avao, Tuipulotu, Cane, Perenara, Williams, J Barrett.

Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales); Assistants: Romain Poite (France), Pascal Gauzere (France); TMO: Marius Jonker (South Africa)

No fans, no claps as Woods moves into solo lead at Zozo

Published in Golf
Friday, 25 October 2019 21:50

CHIBA, Japan – Following Thursday’s frenzy when 17,000 fans crowded onto Narashino Country Club to get a glimpse of Tiger Woods, Saturday’s second round of the Zozo Championship was surreal and subdued.

After Typhoon Bualoi washed out play Friday, officials closed the course to spectators for Round 2. It was a dramatic contrast to what players had expected, particularly Woods.

“When you make a putt and you kind of put your hand up, you're like, hmm, don't really need to put your hand up because there's no one clapping,” said Woods, who leads Gary Woodland by two strokes following his second-consecutive 64.

This is the second time Woods has played in front of an empty house during a PGA Tour event. Officials closed Congressional during the third round of the 2012 AT&T National after an overnight storm damaged dozen of trees.

There was a lighthearted moment early in Woods’ round when fans crowded behind a fence behind the fourth tee.

The course was closed to spectators for Saturday's second round of the Zozo Championship. But that didn't stop the fans from showing up.

“I was a little startled when they were yelling because we didn't expect it,” Woods said. “We heard them there at [No. 4], we heard them at 13. They were on the outside, but they were trying to be a part of the event and tomorrow they get to do that.”

Officials are expecting a sellout crowd of 20,000 for Sunday.

CHIBA, Japan – During Tiger Woods’ comeback in 2018, Woods talked of incremental accomplishments that tested his fused back and fueled his confidence. He will have another one of those moments Sunday at the Zozo Championship.

Because of Friday’s washout due to Typhoon Bualoi, players are scheduled to play until darkness Sunday, which for Woods means 27 or more holes on a left knee he had surgically repaired in August.

“It's just going to be a long day,” Woods said following his second-consecutive 64 Saturday that lifted him to a two-stroke lead. “That's nice going into a long day like tomorrow because it's going to be a bit of a test physically and mentally to play for, what, up to 10 hours.”

Players won’t be re-paired after the third round and Woods will likely have about nine holes remaining on Monday to finish the event. The key for the 43-year-old will be staying loose like he did during the second round when play slowed at the par-5 14th hole.

“You could see all the players, they're talking, being fidgety, moving around, stretching,” Woods said of the wait that lasted nearly 20 minutes. “I think tomorrow's going to be the same thing. We're going to hopefully not have too long a break between rounds, go right back out there and get after it.”

Woods is scheduled to tee off for Round 3 at 7:30 p.m. ET Saturday with Gary Woodland and Keegan Bradley.

CHIBA, Japan – After historic rain, it came down to an IT problem.

Torrential rain from Typhoon Bualoi dropped nearly 10 inches of rain on Narashino Country Club on Friday and maintenance crews worked through the night to make the course playable. The layout drained well with the exception of the par-4 10th hole, which turned into a lake overnight and wasn’t playable.

The hole was shortened to about 150 yards, but because of the difficultly of changing par on the circuit’s scoring system, it remained a par 4.

The move unsurprisingly skewed scoring wildly. Viktor Hovland, playing in the day's first group off No. 10, made eagle, one of 16 made on the round. The hole also yielded 52 birdies, eight pars and no bogeys or worse.

“I mean, I started on a par 4 that was only 150 yards, so that was different. That's one of the hardest driving holes out here, so that's not a drive you want to start on,” said Gary Woodland, who birdied No. 10 and at 10 under is alone in second place behind Tiger Woods. “Fortunately, today we had a little 9-iron, which was great.”

The water had already receded before play was completed Saturday, and officials anticipate playing the normal tee, which puts the hole's yardage back at 376 yards, for the final two rounds.

Ireland 67 for 2 (O'Brien 32, Ajekun 1-10) beat Nigeria 66 for 9 (Adedeji 19*, Young 4-13, Adair 2-10)

Craig Young's 4 for 13, his T20I career-best returns, and Mark Adair's 2 for 10 locked up Ireland's place in the playoffs of the men's T20 World Cup qualifiers as Nigeria were restricted to 66 for 9 before the target was knocked off with 13.5 overs to spare for an eight-wicket win in Abu Dhabi.

Ireland, who pulled off their quickest T20 chase on the day, might even top Group B, but need Jersey to upset Oman on Sunday to produce a tie at 4-2 at the top of the table, with the automatic berth for the group winner at the T20 World Cup decided on net run-rate.

Gareth Delany and Adair made the early inroads for Ireland after Nigeria decided to bat first at Sheikh Zayed Stadium. A googly from Delany bowled Daniel Akejun in the second over before a run out off Delany's bowling got Ireland their second, Sulaimon Runsewe sent packing by George Dockrell. Adair claimed Daniel Gim in the fifth prodding away from his body for an edge behind to make it 13 for 3.

Nigeria crawled to 33 for 4 by the halfway stage before Young made his first strike, bowling Chimezie Onwuzulike after he was late into a drive. His second came in the 17th when Isaac Okpe was fooled by a slower ball to be the bowled. Two more fell in the 19th when Sylvester Okpe became the third batsman to have his stumps knocked back by Young and Vincent Adewoye skied a slog to cover where Dockrell took a catch.

With Ireland keen to lift their net run-rate above Oman to keep the door open to finish atop the group, Paul Stirling and Kevin O'Brien attacked throughout the Powerplay.

Stirling made 11 before he edged behind driving hard at Okpe in the third over but O'Brien kept clearing the infield for six boundaries in his 32 off 17 balls before he fell in the sixth, bowled by Akejun backing away to drive over cover. Delany and Adair teamed to knock off the final 13 runs with the winning runs coming via three leg-byes.

Nigeria have a final chance at a consolation win over Hong Kong on Sunday.

Tamim Iqbal opts out India tour, Imrul Kayes called up

Published in Cricket
Saturday, 26 October 2019 02:23

Tamim Iqbal has opted out of Bangladesh's upcoming tour of India as his wife is expecting their second child later this month, and the national selectors have called up Imrul Kayes as his replacement for the three T20Is. It is, however, not clear whether Imrul will stay on with the touring party for the subsequent Test series too.

Tamim, who is also nursing a rib injury, was named in the T20I side, but had informed the BCB that he might have to skip the second Test, in Kolkata from November 22, to be with his wife. He has since decided to be with his wife for the weeks heading up to the delivery date too.

"Tamim had informed us earlier that he would miss the second Test in Kolkata but now he will be with his wife for the coming weeks," chief selector Minhajul Abedin said.

Tamim missed Bangladesh's home Test against Afghanistan and the T20I tri-series - with Zimbabwe as the third side - last month, after requesting for a break from all cricket following Bangladesh's tour of Sri Lanka in July. He returned this month in a first-class match for Chittagong Division in the National Cricket League, before picking up the injury ahead of the second game.

Tamim becomes the second player to miss out on the India tour after Mohammad Saifuddin was ruled out with a back injury. No replacement has been named for the allrounder yet.

Wales have the belief to push on - North

Published in Rugby
Friday, 25 October 2019 23:26

Wing George North says his World Cup form has been "mixed" but believes Wales are in a stronger position than ever to reach a first final.

Wales face South Africa in Sunday's semi-final in Yokohama.

North, 27, is Wales' third highest try-scorer of all-time with 39 but has crossed only once in four matches in Japan.

"Mixed if I'm honest. Obviously this is the biggest stage and where you want to be playing your best rugby," he said.

"I've not been playing badly but not to where I want to be.

"But to say where we are now in a semi-final and to be part of it is something special."

Along with Leigh Halfpenny, Jonathan Davies and captain Alun Wyn Jones, North is one of four players starting against South Africa who were in the Wales team which lost 9-8 to France the last time they reached the World Cup semi-finals in 2011.

That was a particularly agonising defeat, with Wales falling just short despite having captain Sam Warburton sent off during the first half in Auckland.

Since then, Wales have won three Six Nations titles - including two Grand Slams - and topped the world rankings for the first time.

Now, having beaten France in the quarter-final last Sunday, North thinks Wales are more experienced and better equipped than they were in 2011 to become the first Welsh side to qualify for a World Cup final.

"I think this one has got a better feeling about it," the Ospreys wing added.

"From our point of view, we're chuffed to be here, thrilled to be one of the last four standing. In 2011 we went into it as a bit of an unknown and got there by sheer determination and belief.

"This time it feels like we've earned our place. Obviously the France game wasn't as clean or as clinical as we were hoping but I think Biggs [Dan Biggar] said it: we're in a semi-final so from our point of view, we've got the belief to push on now.

"Any time you mention a World Cup, whether you've played in one World Cup or whatever stage you get to, is huge.

"But to get to a semi-final is massive. It's certainly one of the biggest games of my career and my life.

"Hopefully we can go out and perform and have an even bigger one next week."

After Typhoon Bualoi dropped nearly 10 inches of rain on Narashino Country Club on Friday, the course was closed to spectators for Saturday's second round of the Zozo Championship.

But that didn't stop the fans from showing up.

Television cameras and photos showed spectators lined up outside the fences, many with cameras and GoPros trying to catch a glimpse of the action.

Despite a day off because of a typhoon, Tiger Woods was able to keep his momentum and move into the solo lead Saturday at the Zozo Championship in Japan. Here’s what happened in Round 2 at Narashino Country Club:

Leaderboard: Tiger Woods (-12), Gary Woodland (-10), Keegan Bradley (-8), Hideki Matsuyama (-8), Corey Conners (-7), Daniel Berger (-7), Xander Schauffele (-6), Matthew Wolff (-6)

What it means: It wasn’t Thursday’s nine-birdie effort, but seven second-round birdies were enough to give Woods the same score, a 6-under 64, and the solo lead. Woods was just 1 under on his round at the turn before birdieing the 140-yard, par-4 10th hole, which was shortened significantly after Typhoon Bualoi dumped nearly 10 inches of rain on the course Friday. Woods added birdies at Nos. 11, 13, 17 and 18, the latter coming on a two-putt birdie, to build a two-shot cushion at the midway point.

Round of the day: The soft conditions played right into the hands of Bradley, who carded eight birdies to shoot 7-under 63, the round of the tournament so far and the best for Bradley since the first round of the RBC Canadian Open last June.

Best of the rest: Collin Morikawa took advantage of the 140-yard, par-4 10th hole, which was shortened because of standing water, and began his second round with eagle. The Cal product went bogey-free in posting a 6-under 66, which was equaled by the bogey-free Conners and Sungjae Im, who was 7 under through 12 holes. Also eagling No. 10 was Rory McIlroy, who was among those to shoot 65. That group also included Viktor Hovland, who improved on his opening 75 by 10 shots.

Biggest disappointment: It’s not often a player makes an eagle and three birdies and still shoots 76, but that’s exactly what Joel Dahmen did Saturday to drop to 8 over for the tournament.

Main storyline entering Sunday: Get ready for a lot of golf. The plan is to get 27 holes in Sunday before finishing up the final round on Monday. The players will not be re-grouped between the third and final rounds, which means we’ll get Tiger Woods and Hideki Matsuyama in the final threesome alongside Gary Woodland. Will the large and enthusiastic crowd be rooting for the home favorite Matsuyama or the legend Woods? Woods' last 36-hole outright lead came at the 2013 WGC-Bridgestone, which he won. Woods has won each of the last three tournaments in which he's held the solo lead through two rounds.

Shot of the day: Woods cut a nice approach into the par-4 17th to set up his sixth birdie of the day.

Friday was supposed to be ho-hum Premier League fixture between Leicester and Southampton. What ensued was anything but ordinary as Leicester fired nine goals against 10-men Saints to break the record for biggest away margin of victory and equal the biggest ever margin of victory in the Premier League. Here is how social media reacted to the Foxes record-breaking hammering of Southampton at St Mary's.

To no surprise, hat-trick hero Jamie Vardy's wife Rebekah, who has been in the news lately in relation to her feud with Wayne Rooney's wife Coleen, has weighed in...

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The two biggest margins of victory in Premier League history had one common denominator: Schmeichel.

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There was no shortage of cheek on Twitter after the result either as Man City took a dig at rivals Man United, Southampton kept it short and not so sweet and our own James Tyler chose to kick the Saints while they were down.

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Leicester seem proud of themselves and who can blame them after a historic night:

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Welp, this tweet from Southampton's official twitter feed last week didn't age well...

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