- James Standley
- 10 Sep 07, 01:29 PM
London - England’s World Cup campaign, which got off to a somewhat sluggish start against the USA on Saturday, looks as though it might take another unexpected turn.
The floundering world champions are set to be without Phil Vickery for Friday’s Titanic encounter with South Africa after the captain was cited for an apparent trip on Eagles centre Paul Emerick on Saturday.
It is hard to see how Vickery can escape a minimum of a one-game ban after the incident was missed by the referee in Lens.
Matt Dawson, England’s World Cup-winning scrum-half, says it would be a “huge blow” for England to lose Vickery.
Continue reading "Would Vickery absence be such a disaster?"
- Tom Fordyce
- 10 Sep 07, 12:11 PM
Nantes - Of all the scary sounds you’ve ever heard - fingernails being scraped down a blackboard, two foxes fornicating in the street at midnight, the atonal singing of Yoko Ono - nothing can compare with the noise of a hundred hungover Welshmen clearing their orifices in an echoing campsite wash-block at nine in the morning.
For those directly involved it was bad enough, but pity the 60-year-old Frenchwoman who was attempting to do her breakfast washing-up while being brutally serenaded by this furry-tongued squadron of obscene trumpeters.
Continue reading "Welsh fans in fine voice"
- Nick Mullins
- 10 Sep 07, 10:31 AM
In the bright light of a Monday morning, you have to think that in the end Wales produced the most impressive performance of the home nations on the opening weekend.
England were horrendous (it’s a long time since I’ve been patronised by an American over Sunday breakfast), Scotland were OK but nothing more and I still have a rumbling feeling that Ireland are hurtling down the other side of the hill. Their final pool match with Argentina is beginning to look like a career-definer for so many of their players and coaches.
And while the headline writers were sharpening their pencils five minutes into the second half against Canada, Wales eventually rediscovered some composure and towards the end there were even echoes of those mesmerising passages of play against New Zealand and England in 2003.
Continue reading "Weekend to forget for Home Nations"
- Alastair Hignell
- 10 Sep 07, 10:25 AM
Plus ca change- as the French would say.
In five World Cups since that first tentative venture in Australia and New Zealand in 1987, the All Blacks have always been expected to reach the final and BBC Radio has always been on hand to report the action.
So have I.
Continue reading "The Joy of Six"
