SPORTS:PULSE

Let us Introduce: Balls to Cancer

2012-02-08T00:00:00.002Z

We are returning to our Let us Introduce series. Where we select charities, or projects connected to or who use sport to promote their profile and campaigns.

Introducing, Balls to Cancer, in their own words.

We are Balls to Cancer and it is our aim to fight cancer with fun!

We are raising funds for male cancer awareness and research. Our aim is threefold, firstly we want to open a male only telephone line for men and boys who have been diagnosed with cancer and their families, we also want to fund a group which will travel the country talking to teenagers is a language they understand to take away the taboo of talking about testicular cancer and asking for help, and thirdly we want to fund research into finding a cure for this horrible disease, we will be talking to Oncologists and hospitals to ascertain which laboratories are the ones we should be funding.

Our main fundraising event will be our annual Father’s Day races across the country which will start in 2012, we will also be raising money through a host of other activities including golf days, Christmas parties, raffles and football memorabilia auctions.

We held our first ever fun run on the 30-10-11 at Aldersley Leisure Village in Wolverhampton, it was a huge success with over 100 runners and walkers and it was great to see so many fathers and sons running together to raise awareness and money.
It is our aim that the Father’s day races will be run by grandfathers, fathers and sons. Fathers can walk with their small children boy or girls. This will be a real family day where fathers can spend some real time with their children and raise money for a very important cause.

If you can help with venues, raffle prizes or famous faces please get in touch.
37,000 men are diagnosed a year with Prostate cancer alone in the UK, killing one man an hour.

• Contact Balls to Cancer

Tel: 07882-110625
Email: mark@ballstocancer.com
Address: The Lodge
Mason St
Coseley
Wolverhampton
WV14 9SZ

Elfstedentocht Update. Race hopes still alive despite possible thaw predicted

2012-02-07T11:29:00.003Z

Thanks to our friends at DutchNews.nl for an update on the possibility of staging the Elfstedentocht in 2012.

Expectations of an Elfstedentocht, the famous Frisian 11-city skating race, have sent sales of skates, hot chocolate, pea soup and the distilled Frisian drink Berenburg rocketing, reports the Telegraaf.

If the race, last held in 1997, does go ahead, the Frisian economy will receive a windfall of €100m, the Telegraaf estimates.

Despite weather forecasts of milder weather moving into the country, the Frisians are preparing to hold the race this weekend. The inhabitants of the towns and villages along the routes have been out sweeping the ice for the past four days.

Tickets

And despite a strict ban on selling-on entry tickets, which are only available to members of the Elfstedentocht association, there is a thriving business on Twitter and Marktplaats. On Tuesday, someone bid €1,750 for an entry ticket, reports the NRC.

Marktplaats has since removed all such advertisements. The Twitter messages are mainly from media people looking for participants to interview.

Weather forecasters said on Tuesday Sunday is the last day the race can be held before the thaw sets in.

© DutchNews.nl

Community service for Harry, Your country may need you!

2012-02-06T23:40:00.002Z

Fed up Fabio is frustrated and ready to quit his post as the Don of England. His unerring support of his Skipper has alienated him with the F.A hierarchy and the pampered dressing room.

The John Terry fiasco looks set to run and run. A situation that would have blown over by now, if the F.A had taking prompt and decisive action from the beginning. We can't have that, we need a situation that a Soap scriptwriter couldn't create, without the aid of illegal substances.

All eyes will be on Southwark Court and the outcome of the trial of Harry. If the worst case scenario plays out, in the eyes of Mr Redknapp, may I suggest something. You may wish to impose a fine on Mr Redknapp and possibly a sentence, that's fine. Set a fine and community service - his country needs him your honour.

Sol y Futbol: Lanzarote continue superb home form.

2012-02-06T23:25:00.003Z

Ian Lane reports from a sunny and warm, very warm, Lanzarote. The Rojillos return to winning ways at fortress Arrecife.

LANZAROTE 3 C.D. MENSAJERO 1

Lanzarote´s superb home form continues as they claimed their ninth home win of the season in a wonderfully entertaining match that has moved the Rojillos up to seventh spot and five points off the playoffs.

All did not start well for the Conejeros (locals). A free kick just outside the Lanzarote box was executed with finesse by defender Carlos Martín. His bending free kick cleared the wall and viciously dipped with pace leaving the Lanzarote keeper Ruymán no chance as he saw the ball squeeze in the bottom right hand corner.

The visitors were only able to enjoy their 0-1 advantage for just four minutes. Jotha´s free kick from the right was only half cleared by the La Palma defence. The ball spun in the air and Lanzarote´s brilliant midfielder Ayoze had his eyes on it all the way. His powerful volley from seven yards gave the La Palma keeper no chance as 25 year old local boy levelled the score at one apiece.

The Rojillos were now well and top and the Lanzarote inconsistent winger Toñito was on one of his brilliant days causing havoc switching flanks and terrorising both wing backs.

In the 27th minute Toñito sent striker Rosmen clean through. The tall forward cleanly fired his strike over the keeper but for the ninth time this season the unlucky and short of confidence centre forward could only find the woodwork.

Two minutes later and after some one touch quick passing in midfield Toñito was put through after a clever one two with Jotha. With just the keeper to beat the exciting winger could only stroke his effort straight into the arms of the Mensajero keeper.

For the remainder of an entertaining first half Lanzarote dominated possession but the opposition still looked threatening from set pieces.

The Rojillos were off the blocks quick in the second half with Ayoze firing into the side netting. It still took a little over 20 minutes for Lanzarote´s dominance to prove fruitful. In the 67th minute Ayoze sent Toñito clear and the winger made no mistake this time by firing his team into a 2-1 lead from close range. To make matters worse for the visitors their goal scorer Carlos Martín picked up his second yellow card for protesting so his side were forced to play on with ten men.

The Rojillos maintained possession and made their opponents work but still failed to bury the La Palma side after creating a host of opportunities. In the 86th minute the visitors launched a hopeful ball into the Rojillos danger zone and striker Romario blatantly tried to do a Maradona hand of God but the official clocked the guilty party and duly brandished a second yellow card to the offender and the visitors were reduced to nine men.

In the 89th minute sub Alex Yunes comfortably rounded the keeper and from a narrow angle found the net to complete the 3-1 score line.

Deep into stoppage time and Rosmen unselfishly squared the ball for Echedey but the sub disappointingly skied his shot well over the bar.

It didn’t matter as the Ref blew for full time and Lanzarote are still on course for a playoff finish after another wonder home display. The Rojillos will have another great opportunity to close the gap on the playoff pack when they are at home for the second week running and face in form Villa Santa Brígida. The Gran Canarian side will be in confident mood following their 2-0 home win against second placed S.D. Tenisca.

GOALS
0-1min 7 Carlos Martín
1-1min 11 Ayoze
2-1 min 67 Toñito
3-1 min 89 Alex Yunes

Elfstedentocht: Dutch speed skating race could take place

2012-02-06T11:55:00.005Z

Thanks to our friends at DUTCHNEWS.nl for this report taking in full. Followed with a quick explantion of the course and history of the race from Wikipedia.

'Cautious chance' that 200km skating race will be held

Monday 06 February 2012

There is a ‘cautious chance’ that the famous Frisian 11-city skating race or Elfstedentocht will be held in the current cold snap, Wiebe Wieling, chairman of the race association, told a news conference on Monday morning.

The ice in the north of the province is ‘fantastic’ but still not good enough in the south, Wieling said. 'That gives us cause for concern,’ Wieling said. In particular, the ice is not strong enough on the Sltoermeer and is weak at Stavoren and Luts.

The association is now looking at possible alternative routes. ‘But at the moment we are far from the necessary 15 cm of ice. In some places it is far too thin,’ Wieling is reported as saying by news agency ANP.

Prospects

The 22 local ice association chiefs met on Sunday evening to discuss the prospects. There have been 15 of the grueling 200 kilometre races since the event first took place in 1909.

Leeuwarden is both start and finish of the event, which takes in the 11 'cities' of Friesland: Sneek, IJlst, Sloten, Stavoren, Hindeloopen, Workum, Bolsward, Harlingen, Franeker and Dokkum.

The cold snap, with temperatures as low as -15 Celsius at night, is set to continue for the rest of the week.

If the race goes ahead, thousands of people will take part in an event that was last held in 1997. However, to join in, participants must be a member of the Elfstedentocht association.

Elfstedentocht
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Elfstedentocht (or, in West Frisian, Alvestêdetocht, English translation: "Eleven Cities Tour"), at 200 km, is the world's largest and longest speed skating competition and leisure skating tour, and is held in the province of Friesland, Netherlands only when the ice along the entire course is 15 cm thick.

Course description

The tour, almost 200 km in length, is conducted on frozen canals, rivers and lakes between the eleven historic Frisian cities: Leeuwarden, Sneek, IJlst, Sloten, Stavoren, Hindeloopen, Workum, Bolsward, Harlingen, Franeker, Dokkum then returning to Leeuwarden. The tour is not held every year, mostly because not every Dutch winter permits skating on natural ice. The last editions were in 1985, 1986 and 1997.

Adding to that, the tour currently features about 15,000 amateur skaters taking part, putting high requirements on the quality of the ice. There is a stated regulatory requirement for the race to take place that the ice must be (and remain at) a minimum thickness of 15 centimetres along the entirety of the course. All skaters must be a member of the Association of the Eleven Frisian Cities. A starting permit is required. Further more, in each city the skater must collect a stamp, as well as a stamp from the three secret check points. The skater must finish before midnight.

The finishing point of the Elfstedentocht is a canal near Leeuwarden, called the "Bonkevaart". Close to the "Bonkevaart" is the famous landmark windmill, De Bullemolen, Lekkum.

History

As early as 1760, there has been mentioning of skaters visiting all eleven cities of Friesland on one day. Therefore, the Elfstedentocht was already part of Frisian tradition, when in 1890, Pim Mulier conceived the idea of an organised tour, which was first held in 1909. After this race, the Vereniging De Friesche Elf Steden (Association of the Eleven Frisian Cities) was established to take care of the organisation.

The Elfstedentocht of 1963 is known as "The hell of '63" when only 1% of the contestants finished the race, due to the extremely low temperatures -18°C and a harsh eastern wind. Conditions were so horrendous that the winner of '63, Reinier Paping, became a national hero, and the tour itself legendary.

After '63, the next Elfstedentocht did not take place until 1985, over 20 years later. Times had changed. In 1963 and before, one of the best methods to stay warm during the tour was to put newspapers underneath the clothes. During the 20 years between the tours of '63 and '85, clothing, training methods and skates became much more advanced, changing the nature of skating for ever.

The tour of 1985 was ended prematurely. As early as 22:00 in the evening, skaters were taken off the ice because of thawing. In 1986 the Dutch Crown Prince Willem-Alexander participated in the Elfstedentocht, under the name W.A. van Buren. In January 2010, the Dutch website Sportgeschiedenis.nl [geschiedenis = history] published allegations that since Willem-Alexander had not registered until the day of the race, his entry was irregular.

Kult & Punk: St Pauli back after winter break, but lose!

2012-02-06T11:39:00.003Z

The boys are back, but suffer defeat. Kult and Punk return refreshed, after the winter break. The return wasn't a happy one, but back to Zoes Bar next week, the commencement of the Dart League and playing live is Dresden Dave and the Stranded Motorists - really is a band, promise we did not make that up.

Alemannia Aachen 2-1 FC St. Pauli

Aachen and St. Pauli could hardly have gone into their encounter in more contrasting situations. While the hosts had struggled prior to the winter break and began the tie in 14th place, just a point above the relegation zone, the guests were only three points off the top of the league and gearing themselves up for a promotion push.

In the opening exchanges, the bright pink ball in use due to the icy pitch was the most striking aspect of the game as both teams laboured to find their feet in their first competitive match for more than a month. But the encounter suddenly sparked into life after a quarter of an hour as the home side netted two quick goals, first a Benjamin Auer penalty after Albert Streit had been unceremoniously hacked down in the box, before Aimen Demai doubled the lead after a terrific one-two in the edge of the area.

Aachen impressive

Aachen were solid at the back and appeared to be heading into the break with their two goal advantage intact, but Fabian Boll reduced Pauli's deficit shortly before half time, stroking the ball in from close range following a flick on from Max Kruse's cross. After the break however, Aachen regained their composure and their play belied their lowly standing in the league, often troubling the Pauli defence with quick and incisive passing in attack, but neither side was able to find the net again.

The victory means the hosts now move three points clear of the relegation zone, and although they remain in a perilous position, they should be able to stay out of trouble if they can consistently repeat their performance here. Pauli's promotion hopes suffered a dent, but they are still in the mix at the top, only four points behind the leaders.

WSN Basketball: Wasps too hot to handle at the Blaze.

2012-02-06T11:31:00.001Z

Hull Wasps made history on Saturday afternoon with a thrilling 56-54 victory at Burnley Blaze. The Wasps had never managed to beat Burnley in three previous fixtures but a solid defensive display brought them victory to remain fourth in National League 4 North.

Hull got off to a flying start, hitting the Blaze with six points before the hosts could reply. That performance continued throughout the quarter and managed to open up an 18-8 lead by the end of the first quarter.

Burnley began to pull their way back into the game at the start of the second and put together a small run of their own to put the Wasps on the back foot. However, the Hull side held out with their defence and held on for a 32-27 lead going into the half-time break.

A number of controversial decisions from the officials hit the Wasps hard at the start of the second-half. The momentum had swung in favour of Burnley Blaze, who then managed to overturn the deficit and open up a ten point lead for themselves mid-way through the third.

However, the Wasps were determined not to be beaten and adjusted their defence to keep out their opponents while scoring six unanswered points. That reduced the hosts’ lead to four points to set-up a decisive final quarter.

A number of exchanges kept the game on edge between the two sides but an outstanding 9-2 run from the Wasps brought them back into it with just minutes remaining. John Kelsey dramatically scored the winning basket with just 16 seconds left to go one-point ahead, before sealing the 56-54 win with an additional point from the free-throw line.

Following the game, Wasps’ player-coach Matt Fawcett said: “We ground that victory out. We weren’t favourites going into the game today. We may sit above them in the league, but they have played three games less. It was so important to get the win so we can stay above them.

“They are a very talented side and we had them down as favourites for the league at the beginning of the season. They’ve lost a few games since then and perhaps not reached their full potential this season. They have some great players and it was hard to shut them down today but we dug in and knew that if we defended well, we could do it.

“I’m very proud of my team today. Everyone worked hard, played well as a team and really deserved the win.”

Captain John Brignell led the scoring for the Wasps with 16 points. Forward Matt Brutnell scored 10 with point-guard John Kelsey scoring 9.

The Wasps return home next Saturday evening to face second place Stockport Falcons at the Bonus Arena, 7:30pm tip-off.

Preview of 2012 Six Nations tournament.

2012-02-03T12:55:00.002Z

Team Previews With the 2012 Six Nations starting tomorrow, our friends at Planet Rugby take a closer look at each of the protagonists, starting with the defending champions,

England.

A team in transition is a term used regularly and it seems none more so than with England since 2003. Expectations are that they will not win the Championship but must show promise in order to give momentum to Stuart Lancaster's successor. Who knows, maybe Lancaster will thrive and go full-time?

Last year: Champions. It could have been a Grand Slam for England after they opened up with wins over Wales, Italy, France and Scotland before the wheels came off in Dublin as Ireland took the spoils 24-8. All was looking rosy for Martin Johnson's side during the Championship as Chris Ashton was combining superbly with Ben Foden while Tom Wood was making his mark on the international scene. They also had the warm blanket of Jonny Wilkinson waiting on the bench should they need to close out a game. It was an ultimately successful campaign that seems a long time ago now after what happened in New Zealand.

This year: Where to start? After a disappointing World Cup and then the shambles that was the leaked player reports, Johnson is gone along with Mike Ford, John Wells, Brian Smith and Dave Alred. Only scrum guru Graham Rowntree remains and will form a new-look team with Lancaster and Andy Farrell for the Six Nations. There have also been plenty of retirements and trips abroad that see Lewis Moody, James Haskell, Simon Shaw, Jonny Wilkinson and Steve Thompson just some of the names who won't be involved this time around. Into the mix on the playing side come the likes of Owen Farrell, Ben Morgan, Mouritz Botha and Brad Barritt while there is a return to the squad for Charlie Hodgson. However, it will be tough for these players to settle into international rugby so soon and subsequently third place is arguably the best England can expect against the settled Welsh, Irish and French. The game with Scotland is key.

Key players: When blooding a fresh team it is important to begin by starting with the basics and build from there. England need a solid set-piece which means Alex Corbisiero, Dylan Hartley and Dan Cole need to front up at scrum time. Tom Croft is also now a senior player and his unrivalled ability will possibly be called upon more so than before in 2012. Behind the forwards the probable naming of Brad Barritt and Owen Farrell is going to be a vital area for Lancaster's side. If they can translate their club form into the Test arena, then soon-to-be team-mate Chris Ashton could be amongst the tries.

Prospects: The result against Scotland at Murrayfield cannot be downplayed as defeat would mean the pressure would be increased when England head into the cauldron that is the Stadio Olimpico. Imagine two losses on their back before taking on Wales, France and Ireland? On the flip side, huge confidence would be gained by two opening wins and so we wait to see how quickly Lancaster can rebuild this squad, which has little Test experience. Fourth place for us.

Next up, France.

With arguably the strongest squad (on paper at least), a highly-rated coach and a favourable draw, the recent World Cup finalists must fancy their chances of recapturing the Six Nations crown lost to England a year ago.

Last year: Les Bleus finished last year's Championship as runners-up as they continued to display the inconsistency that became the hallmark of the Marc Lièvremont era. A big win over Wales on the last day might have brought a semblance of respectability to France's campaign in terms of the final standings, but the 2011 tournament will be remembered for that infamous loss to Italy. After an unconvincing victory in Ireland, the defending champions' lack of spark was exposed at Twickenham and their inability to lift themselves against the Azzurri spoke volumes of the rocky relationship between the national coach and his players. That they rode roughshod over a very good Welsh side just a week later and then went on to lose to Tonga only to nearly upset the All Blacks in the World Cup final was further proof that when the stars align, this generation of French players have the capacity to be unstoppable. But finding that elusive combination of elements isn't easy.

This year: Enter Philippe Saint-André. Unlike his predecessor, France's new boss arrives with a recognised coaching pedigree and solid track record for managing the egos of 'stars'. In contrast to Lièvremont, PSA has made no grand promises of 'returning to French flair' and the like. Professionnalism has been a recurrent theme in the new coach's utterings which has been largely welcomed by both old and new faces, of which there are - unsurprisingly - relatively few. The XV de France will start the new era with a tricky transition phase as both assistant coaches - Yannick Bru and Patrice Lagisquet - are still contracted to their respective clubs, Toulouse and Biarritz. Of the six nations, France will have the least preparation time, meaning we might not see their full potential in the first few weeks.

Key players: The core of France's World Cup squad remains intact with skipper and IRB Player of the Year Thierry Dusautoir still very much the rock on which the team is built. The French pack has been their principal strength over the last few years with hooker William Servat and number eight Imanol Harinordoquy recognised as being amongst the best players in the world in their respective positions. Amongst the backs, uncapped Wesley Fofana has been tipped for big things in midfield alongside his skipper at Clermont, Aurélien Rougerie. Who is chosen to play at fly-half between the free-running François Trinh-Duc and kicking maestro Lionel Beauxis will go a long way to determining France's style.

Prospects: As usual, France will aim for nothing less than the title and home games against both Ireland and England will certainly aid their cause. Kicking off against Italy in Paris presents the perfect opportunity to smooth into the new era. Look out for odds on a Grand Slam showdown with Wales in Cardiff on March 17.

Ireland.

Ireland will be confident of winning the title despite being without Brian O'Driscoll, who is missing for the entire tournament due to shoulder surgery. They have a tough start - opening with Wales and France - but with a strong pack and provincial form, they will fancy their chances.

Last year: Beating the English in the 2011 finale somewhat papered over a poor Six Nations from Ireland as they fell to France and Wales. What was also worrying was their ability to only narrowly overcome Italy and Scotland as once again they couldn't translate the form of Munster and Leinster onto the international stage. What made life frustrating was that they could have overcome France had hooker Sean Cronin not dropped the ball with the try-line begging. Would Declan Kidney's side have then sneaked the title? Personally, O'Driscoll scored three tries for his country while Jamie Heaslip got two.

This year: What's new? Not much, but is that the problem? 'Tried and tested' is one phrase used by pundits while some readers are going with 'tired and tested'. We expect the same starting pack that fronted up against Wales in New Zealand to run out in the opening fixture, with only Fergus McFadden and maybe Jonathan Sexton replacing BOD and Ronan O'Gara. Off the field and it seems Gert Smal will remain in the coaching set-up despite rumours of him returning to South Africa. They are serious contenders of that there is little doubt but if the Irish fail to push hard for the title this year then it is likely heads will roll.

Key players: Three names immediately jump out of their pack and they are Cian Healy, Sean O'Brien and Stephen Ferris. That trio have been devastating for Leinster and Ulster respectively and also starred at the World Cup. Both the aforementioned flanks are carrying machines while Healy compliments them well in open play. Outside the forwards and the Irish possess Jonathan Sexton and Rob Kearney, with the latter having regained his form of 2009 for the Lions.

Prospects: Is their opener with Wales in Dublin the Six Nations decider? Some say yes, but the majority will no doubt be in agreement that if they defeat France the following week in Paris then the road to glory will have been eased considerably. Anything less than first or second will be a disappointment.

Italy.

Italy step into a brave new era with the ambition of evolving from regular Wooden Spooners to mid-table contenders.

Last year: Although the Azzurri finished the 2011 tournament at the foot of the Six Nations table, last year will go down as one of the most memorable in the history of Italian rugby thanks to two huge performances at the Stadio Flaminio. On the opening weekend, Ronan O'Gara's last-gasp drop-goal broke Italian hearts as Ireland escaped defeat by the skin of their teeth but France were not so lucky a month later. That historic one-point win was a milestone in the development of Italian rugby and was the culmination of four years under Nick Mallett's guidance. Unfortunately, a 46-point thrashing at Twickenham and a feeble showing in defeat at Murrayfield illustrated that there are many years of hard work ahead before the Tifosi can celebrate their first title.

This year: Former Perpignan coach Jacques Brunel has a massive task on his hands as he aims to build on the platform created by Mallett. While his predecessor long bemoaned the lack of quality backs to match the formidable Azzurri pack, Brunel has taken a positive approach to the situation - in front of the press at least - and has spoken of finding a 'more balanced game' for Italy. Easier said than done. There are handful of new players in the squad that few outside of Italy would have heard of but Brunel has a record of doing a lot with limited resources. His ambition of moving Italy into the top six in the world does however seem a touch overambitious. Nevertheless, the prospect of the men in blue giving the ball a bit more air - at their temporary home at Rome's Olympic Stadium - will be welcomed by most supporters. Whether it works remains to be seen.

Key players: What would Italy be without Sergio Parisse? One of the finest back rows around, the skipper is still the best player in blue. Leicester prop Martin Castrogiovanni is no spring chicken but remains the king-pin in a fearsome front row. Meanwhile, full-back Andre Masi became the first Italian to be voted the Player of the Tournament last year.

Prospects: Don't expect Brunel to work miracles overnight. Once again, Italy's main ambition will be to win one home game and their final fixture against Scotland is their best opportunity to do so. Trips to Paris, Dublin and Cardiff and a visit from defending champions England make for a rather unfavourable draw.

Scotland

Can Scotland avoid another wooden spoon battle with Italy and instead make a strong enough bid for a title they have not won since the tournament was expanded to six teams at the turn of 2000?

Last year: Scotland finished the 2011 Six Nations with a flourish, ending a run of four straight losses and thus avoiding the wooden spoon in the process with victory over Italy at Murrayfield - their first Championship win at their home ground in two years. The match also saw Nick De Luca touch down for Scotland's first try at Murrayfield since November 2009, while head coach Andy Robinson celebrated his second Six Nations win in 10 attempts but his first at the home of Scotland rugby. Prior to that winning result on March 19, the Scots had a rather forgetful campaign after entering the tournament with plenty of promise on the back of five wins in six Tests. However, an opening loss to France, was followed by two home defeats to Wales and Ireland before going down to England in a tight tussle at Twickenham.

This year: If Scotland conjure up repeat performances like the ones displayed at the World Cup, then their loyal supporters are in for a frustrating season ahead yet again. The Scots managed to score only four tries throughout their World Cup campaign and lost close games they should have won, resulting in the disappointment of becoming the first Scotland squad not to make the World Cup quarter-finals. Yet Andy Robinson's position remains safe all the way to 2015. In order to make a splash in this year's Six Nations, the former England boss badly needs a fresh approach to galvanise a hopelessly one-dimensional side or the nightmare of taking home the dreaded wooden spoon could become a harsh reality. They have a chance to take advantage of an under-fire England team going through a rebuilding phase under a caretaker coach in the tournament opener at Murrayfield. They couldn't have asked for a better fixture to kick-off their campaign, with the added chance of revenge thrown into the mix against the auld enemy. However one feels that if they let this opportunity slip, then the remainder of the tournament will be an uphill battle with a tough away game against Wales to follow before taking on France at home and then Ireland in Dublin.

Key players: Scotland received an early injury blow with news that loose forward Kelly Brown will miss the entire tournament. In his absence, 53-times capped hooker Ross Ford has secured the armband and will be required to lead the team from the front. His experience though is priceless, and commands the respect of his team-mates and opponents. Behind him, Richie Gray - with his mop of shaggy blond hair and fearless attitude on the pitch - will once again be a force to be reckoned with. Gray may be only 22, but has become a cult hero in Scottish rugby and already has the makings of a world-class player. In the backs, uncapped Glasgow pivot Duncan Weir may get a chance to showcase his kicking skills if given the chance but needs a poor showing from Ruaridh Jackson and Dan Parks for it happen.

Prospects: There's a genuine feeling that Scottish rugby is in the ascendancy after Edinburgh reached the Heineken Cup quarter-finals as pool winners. However, as mentioned already, the Calcutta Cup clash with England will shape the tournament for Scotland. Win and a strong tournament is possible. Defeat and a repeat of the last two tournaments is likely and Robinson's position may be placed under scrutiny. Fixtures with World Cup semi-finalists Wales, World Cup finalists France, World Cup quarter-finalists Ireland and Italy follow, with the match in Rome potentially once again being the wooden spoon decider.

Wales

Wales enter the Six Nations as hot favourites following their remarkable run at the World Cup in New Zealand. The big question though is whether they can kick on and land their second Six Nations title under coach Warren Gatland. They're unquestionably good enough to do it, but will they crumble under pressure?

Last year: Wales had a tiny chance of snatching the Six Nations crown off England - who had earlier been taken apart by Ireland - if they managed to beat France by 27 points in Paris. After suffering an opening defeat to England in Cardiff, Wales' mini-renaissance of three consecutive wins had formed the platform of their unlikely tilt at the title. In the end, the salient margin became the 10-point win needed by France to leap-frog Wales into second place while Gatland's troops were condemned to fourth.

This year: This time last year Wales entered the Six Nations under immense pressure having failed to record a single Test victory in seven consectutive attempts. Now they are favourites thanks to their World Cup heroics. Three of their five games are in Cardiff, while an opening weekend trip to Dublin is underpinned by the knowledge that Wales knocked Ireland out of World Cup contention at the quarter-final stage. However, injuries have not been kind to the Welsh who have to soldier on without the likes of locks Luke Charteris and Alun-Wyn Jones and hooker Lloyd Burns, while fly-half Rhys Priestland and prop Gethin Jenkins will miss the opening match in Dublin with flanker Dan Lydiate also in doubt. It's an early blow that Gatland can certainly do without, but still has plenty of talent to overcome this injury hurdle.

Key players: Toby Faletau caused a storm at the RWC in New Zealand, playing all seven of last year's World Cup matches, and was arguably Wales' find of the tournament where he finished as his team's top tackler and carrier. Needless to say, much of the same will be required. The same goes for Wales captain Sam Warburton - minus the red cards of course. However, even his sending off in the World Cup semi-final against France failed to damage Warburton's reputation as one of the rising stars of the game. In the backs, with Shane Williams retiring from Test rugby, it's a simple case of out with the old and in with the new as George North continues to make waves out wide.

Prospect: The gutsy displays shown throughout the World Cup, prove that Wales have the potential to go all the way... if they manage to keep fifteen men on the field for 80 minutes and make their kicks at goal count.

India's Premier Soccer League aims to capture country's imagination.

2012-02-01T20:59:00.002Z

We take a look at the up and coming ‘Indian Super League'.

Below is a report taking in full from our friends at BBC Sport.

By Rahul Tandon BBC Sport

Walk around any Indian city and you will see youngsters wearing Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea shirts.

Every weekend millions of young middle class Indians watch their adopted teams on television.

Now in the football-crazy state of West Bengal, which is home to more than 90 million people, a new football league has been launched.

The men behind the Premier Soccer League hope the participation of former Liverpool and England striker Robbie Fowler , along with the likes of Premier League title-winners Robert Pires and Hernan Crespo, plus Italy's World Cup-winning captain Fabio Cannavaro, will give the beautiful game a much-needed boost in the world's largest democracy.

Bhaswar Goswami, the public face of the competition, expects India to clinch World Cup qualification for the first time within the next 10 years. And, when the national team achieve that goal, he wants the whole country to look back and remember the start of the PSL as the day the journey began.

On Monday I was at a five-star hotel in Calcutta where more than £4.4m was spent on 20 international players and five coaches. That may be peanuts in the context of world football but in India it is a significant amount. And there is more to come.
Utpal Ganguly, secretary of the Indian Football Association, told the BBC: "I think that, with no disrespect to the likes of Robbie Fowler, one year of success and you will see bigger names coming here. This is only the beginning."

Manchester United striker Michael Owen and Nicolas Anelka, who recently left Chelsea for Chinese side Shanghai Shenhua, have been linked with an Indian move, as has ex-England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson.

So how will it work? The new six-team league is set to start in March and the season, which has 35 matches, will last for seven weeks. Each club will have an iconic player and a foreign coach, while they are also permitted to field two other foreigners and an Asian player alongside locally produced footballers.
But there is one major problem facing the league - stars from the country's main domestic league, the I-League, are not allowed to take part.

There are also worries whether some of the smaller teams have the infrastructure in place for such a league.

Arunava Chaudhuri, one of those behind Bayern Munich's recent trip to India, feels comparisons between the new league and cricket's money-spinning Indian Premier League are unfair.

He said: "As this is a regional league it is wrong to compare it with the IPL.
"The players will have to live in areas like Silliguri and Durgapur where the hotels and other facilities will not be up to the international standards they are used to."

The concerns of Chaudhuri are also shared by respected Indian sports writer Arvind Basu. He added: "If the teams just spend money on ageing international stars and not on local infrastructure then Indian football will not benefit."

Even though cricket is India's national sport, there is also huge passion for football in areas like West Bengal, Goa and Kerala.

The Calcutta Derby between East Bengal and Mohun Bagan regularly attracts crowds of over 90,000. It even has an impact on the price of food - if Mohun Bagan win the price of prawns goes up as the club's fans buy in bulk to celebrate. If East Bengal triumph it's the price of Hilsha - a local fish - that rises.

India was also asked to play in the 1950 World Cup but the footballers pulled out after their request to play in bare feet was declined.

So it begs one burning question. Can Fowler, Pires, Crespo and Cannavaro help football conquer what some have described as its final frontier?

With the global coverage it has received, the league has already helped put India on the football map. Though whether that is as a football destination or as a football-playing country remains to be seen.

Indian football is beginning a new chapter but like all good stories no-one knows how it is going to end.

Stobart Super League 2012: club-by-club guide

2012-02-01T16:27:00.002Z

There may be new sponsors, six new coaches and seven new captains but it would be a surprise if Stobart Super League XVII throws up any change to the old order. Thanks to our friends at Telegraph Sport for the guide to the 2012 season.

By Ian Laybourn

Bradford Bulls

Coach: Mick Potter (since November 2010)

Captain (joint): Heath L'Estrange and Matt Diskin.

2011 finish: 10th

2011 leading scorers: tries – Shad Royston 10; goals – Patrick Ah Van 87; points – Patrick Ah Van 210.

Biggest Super League win: 96-16 (v Salford, 2000).

Biggest Super League defeat: 66-4 (v St Helens, 2005).

Ground and capacity: Odsal, 26,019.

2010 average attendance: 13,967 (up 5,531)

Record Super League attendance: 24,020 (v Leeds 1999).

In: Manase Manuokafoa (Parramatta), Keith Lulia (Newcastle Knights), Luke Gale (Harlequins), Jarrod Sammut, Elliott Kear (both Crusaders), Adrian Purtell (Penrith Panthers), Karl Pryce (Wigan).

Out: Patrick Ah Van (Widnes) Shad Royston (Pia), Marc Herbert (released), Andy Lynch (Hull), Gareth Raynor (Featherstone), Cain Southernwood (Dewsbury, on season-long loan), Steve Crossley (released).

Odds to finish top: 50-1 (William Hill).

Prospects: The pressure is coach Mick Potter to avoid another season of underachievement and the play-offs could once more be out of the Bulls' reach. Andy Lynch is a big loss for them.

Prediction: 9th.
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Castleford Tigers

Coach: Ian Millward (since November 2011).

Captain: Danny Orr.

2011 finish: 9th.

2011 leading scorers: tries – Rangi Chase, Richard Owen, Nick Youngquest 12; goals: Kirk Dixon 84; points – Kirk Dixon 196.

Biggest Super League win: 74-16 (v Salford, 2002).

Biggest Super League defeat: 62-0 (v Warrington, 2011) (also lost 68-12 v St Helens, 2008).
Ground and capacity: The Probiz Coliseum (formerly Wheldon Road), 11,750.

2011 average attendance: 7,156 (up 540)

Record Super League attendance: 11,731 (v Leeds, 2004).

In: Josh Griffin (Huddersfield), Steve Nash (Leigh), Lee Mitchell, Ryan Shaw (both Warrington, on loan, Grant Millington (Canterbury Bulldogs), James Grehan (Limoux).

Out: Nick Fozzard (Dewsbury), Dean Widders (returned to Australia), Willie Isa (Widnes), Greg Eden (Huddersfield), Martin Aspinwall (Hull), Richard Mathers (Wakefield on season-long loan).

Odds to finish top: 66-1.

Prospects: New coach Ian Millward will need to call on all his nous if he is to take the Tigers into the play-offs. They will rely heavily on 2011 Man of Steel Rangi Chase.

Prediction: 12th.
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Catalan Dragons

Coach: Trent Robinson (since November 2010).

Captain: Gregory Mounis.

2011 finish: 6th.

2011 leading scorers: tries – Damien Blanch 20; goals – Scott Dureau 92; points – Scott Dureau 233.

Biggest Super League win: 66-6 (v Salford, 2007).

Biggest Super League defeat: 60-12 (v Leeds, 2006).

Ground and capacity: Gilbert Brutus Stadium, 13,000.

2011 average attendance: 8,387 (up 1,573).

Record Super League attendance: 11,122 (v Wigan, 2006, at Stade Aime Giral) (also drew 18,150 for visit of Warrington to Barcelona's Olympic Stadium in 2009).

In: Leon Pryce (St Helens), Louis Anderson (Warrington), Julian Bousquet (Lezignan).

Out: Ben Farrar (Manly), Sebastien Martins (Lezignan).

Odds to finish top: 14-1.

Prospects: Trent Robinson has made a couple of significant additions to his squad and they look sure to be competitive, especially on home soil. Despite an early glut of injuries, the Dragons could be an outside bet for Old Trafford.

Prediction: 5th.
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Huddersfield Giants

Coach: Nathan Brown (since December 2008).

Captain: Kevin Brown.

2011 finish: 4th.

2011 leading scorers: tries – Jermaine McGilvary 16; goals – Danny Brough 82; points – Danny Brough 197

Biggest Super League win: 68-16 (v Leigh, 2005) (also 52-0 and 58-6 v Wakefield, 2010)

Biggest Super League defeat: 86-6 (v Leeds, 1999).

Ground and capacity: Galpharm Stadium, 24,500.

2011 average attendance: 7,147 (down 86)

Record Super League attendance: 15,629 (v Leeds, 2008).

In: Jason Chan (Crusaders), Aaron Murphy, Tommy Lee, Luke George (all Wakefield), Greg Eden (Castleford), Tony Tonks (Featherstone).

Out: Darrell Griffin (Leeds), David Hodgson, Graeme Horne, Keal Carlile (all Hull KR), Gregg McNally (Leigh), Josh Griffin (Castleford), Kyle Wood, Andy Raleigh, Danny Kirmond (all Wakefield), Elliott Hodgson, Jamie Simpson (both (released).

Odds to finish top: 16-1.

Prospects: Nathan Brown will be keen to finish on a high as he prepares to return to Australia and the Giants look a shoo-in for the top eight but they do not look as strong this year and another top-four finish looks a tall order.

Prediction: 6th.
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Hull FC

Coach: Peter Gentle (since November 2011)

Captain: Andy Lynch.

2011 finish: 8th.

2011 leading scorers: tries – Kirk Yeaman 21; goals – Danny Tickle 83; points – Danny Tickle 202.

Biggest Super League win: 82-6 (v Salford, 2004).

Biggest Super League defeat: 64-10 (v St Helens, 2002) – also lost 71-0 at Bradford in 2005 play-offs.

Ground and capacity: KC Stadium, 25,404.

2011 average attendance: 12,431 (down 1,583)

Record Super League attendance: 23,004 (v Hull KR, 2007).

In: Jamie Ellis (Leigh), Aaron Heremaia, Brett Seymour (both New Zealand Warriors), Wade McKinnon (Wests Tigers), Eamon O'Carroll (Wigan), Andy Lynch (Bradford), Tony Martin (Crusaders), Martin Aspinwall (Castleford), Mike Burnett (returned from loan at Harlequins).

Out: Sean Long, Lee Radford, Craig Fitzgibbon (all retired), Martin Gleeson, Ewan Dowes (both released), Cameron Phelps (Widnes), Epalahame Lauaki (Wigan), Danny Washbrook (Wakefield), Sam Obst (Keighley).

Odds to finish top: 20-1.

Prospects: Hull have presented new coach Peter Gentle with a much-changed squad and all look quality additions so an assault on the top four could be on.

Prediction: 7th.
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Hull Kingston Rovers

Coach: Craig Sandercock (since November 2011)#

Captain: Ben Galea

2011 finish: 7th

2011 leading scorers: tries – Kris Welham 24; goals – Michael Dobson 76; points – Michael Dobson 179

Biggest Super League win: 70-14 (v Wakefield, 2011)

Biggest Super League defeat: 60-20 (v Warrington, 2007 – also lost 40-0 v St Helens, 2010 and 56-6 v Catalan Dragons in 2011 play-offs)

Ground and capacity: Craven Park, 10,250

2011 average attendance: 8,320 (up 86)

Record Super League attendance: 10,250 (v Hull, 2011).

In: David Hodgson, Graeme Horne, Keal Carlile (all Huddersfield), Lincoln Withers, Ryan O'Hara (both Crusaders), George Griffin (Queanbeyan Kangaroos), Micky Paea (Canterbury Bulldogs), Constantine Mika, Shannon McDonnell (both Newcastle)

Out: Clint Newton (Penrith Panthers) Mick Vella (retired), Ben Fisher (Batley), Shaun Briscoe (Widnes), Liam Colbon, Matt Cook (both London Broncos), Peter Fox (Wakefield).

Odds to finish top: 40-1.

Prospects: Rovers have lost a lot of experience and 2012 could be a year of consolidation under new coach Craig Sandercock, especially after losing playmaker Blake Green for much of it with a blood clot.

Prediction: 10th.
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Leeds Rhinos

Coach: Brian McDermott (since November 2010)

Captain: Kevin Sinfield.

2011 finish: 5th

2011 leading scorers (including play-offs): tries – Ryan Hall 28; goals – Kevin Sinfield 138; points – Kevin Sinfield 286.

Biggest Super League win: 86-6 (v Huddersfield, 1999)

Biggest Super League defeat: 68-14 (v Wigan, 1996)

Ground and capacity: Headingley, 20,000

2011 average attendance: 14,669 (down 568).

Record Super League attendance: 23,035 (v Bradford 2003).

In: Darrell Griffin (Huddersfield), Richard Moore (Crusaders), Luke Ambler (returned from loan at Harlequins).

Out: Keith Senior (released), Luke Burgess (South Sydney), Ben Cross (Widnes), Danny Buderus (Newcastle), Kyle Amor, Ali Lauitiiti (both Wakefield).

Odds to finish top: 6-1.

Prospects: No one will underestimate the Rhinos after last year's incredible achievement and they will once more be pushing for Old Trafford.

Prediction: 4th.
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London Broncos

Coach: Rob Powell (since November 2010)

Captain: tbc.

2011 finish: 12th

2011 leading scorers: tries – Luke Dorn 13; goals – Luke Gale 75; points – Luke Gale 184

Biggest Super League win: 72-8 (v Wakefield, 2005)

Biggest Super League defeat: 82-6 (v Warrington, 2011)

Ground and capacity: Twickenham Stoop, 15,000.

2011 average attendance: 3,132 (down 248)

Record Super League attendance: 9,638 (v Paris, at The Valley, 1996).

In: Craig Gower (French RU), Mark Bryant, Michael Witt (both Crusaders), Antonio Kaufusi (Newcastle Knights), Shane Rodney (Manly), Julien Rinaldi (Wakefield), Jarrad Hickey (Wakefield, to be confirmed), Michael Robertson (Manly), Liam Colbon, Matt Cook (both Hull KR).

Out: Luke Gale (Bradford), Rob Purdham (retired), Andy Ellis, Oliver Wilkes (both Wakefield), David Williams (London Skolars), Mark Burnett (returned from loan spell to Hull), Nick Kouparitsas, Danny Ward, Mark Calderwood (all released), Luke Ambler (returned to Leeds after loan spell), Karl Pryce (returned from loan spell to Wigan).

Odds to finish top: 80-1.

Prospects: After a dismal 2011, the only way is up for Rob Powell's men in their new guise and, with a host of quality signings, they ought to be pushing for a play-off spot.

Prediction: 8th.
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Salford City Reds

Coach: Phil Veivers (since November 2011)

Captain: Stephen Wild.

2011 finish: 11th.

2011 leading scorers: tries – Jodie Broughton 14; goals – Daniel Holdsworth 68; points – Daniel Holdsworth 164.

Biggest Super League win: 56-16 (v Bradford, 2011).

Biggest Super League defeat: 96-16 (v Bradford, 2000).

Ground and capacity: Salford Community Stadium, 12,000.

2011 average attendance: 4,754 (up 588)

Record Super League attendance: 10,146 (v Catalan 2011).

In: Shannan McPherson (South Sydney), Ben Gledhill, Josh Veivers, Stuart Howarth (all Wakefield), Joel Moon (New Zealand Warriors), Jordan James (Crusaders), Matty Ashurst (St Helens).

Out: Stefan Ratchford (Warrington), Ray Cashmere, Mark Henry (both returned to Australia), Jack Spencer (Wests Tigers), Rob Parker, Adam Clay (both Leigh).

Odds to finish top: 80-1.

Prospects: A new home and a new coach, but it is hard to see a change in fortunes for the City Reds, who will sorely miss departed duo Ray Cashmere and Stefan Ratchford.

Prediction: 13th.
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St Helens

Coach: Royce Simmons (since November 2010)

Captain: Paul Wellens

2011 finish: 3rd

2011 leading scorers (including play-offs): tries – Jamie Foster 21; goals – Jamie Foster 123; points – Jamie Foster 330

Biggest Super League win: 78-4 (v Leigh, 2005)

Biggest Super League defeat: 70-0 (v Leeds, 2004)

Ground and capacity: Langtree Park, 18,000

2011 average attendance (at Widnes): 7,975 (down 3,594)

Record Super League attendance: 18,098 (v Warrington, 1996).

In: Lance Hohaia (New Zealand Warriors), Anthony Laffranchi (Gold Coast), Mark Flanagan (Wests Tigers).

Out: James Graham (Canterbury Bulldogs), Kyle Eastmond (Bath RU), Leon Pryce (Catalan Dragons), Matty Ashurst (Salford), Scott Moore (Widnes), Tom Armstrong (Swinton), Gareth Frodsham (Batley).

Odds to finish top: 10-3.

Prospects: Saints begin life after James Graham at an impressive new home and, despite the loss of their inspirational forward, they are sure to be gunning for a seventh consecutive appearance at Old Trafford.

Prediction: 3rd.
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Wakefield Trinity Wilcats

Coach: Richard Agar (since November 2011)

Captain: Steve Southern.

2011 finish: 13th

2011 leading scorers: tries – Chris Dean 8; goals – Josh Veivers 22; points – Josh Griffin 62.

Biggest Super League win: 68-6 (v Halifax, 2003).

Biggest Super League defeat: 72-8 (v London, 2005).

Ground and capacity: Rapid Solicitors Stadium (formerly Belle Vue), 11,000.
2011 average attendance: 6,552 (up 568).

Record Super League attendance: 11,000 (v Castleford, 2006).

In: Issac John (New Zealand Warriors), Oliver Wilkes, Andy Ellis (both Harlequins), Vince Mellars (Crusaders), Kyle Amor, Ali Lauitiiti (both Leeds), Kyle Wood, Andy Raleigh, Danny Kirmond (all Huddersfield), Ben Cockayne (Featherstone), Peter Fox (Hull KR), Steve Southern (Newcastle Knights), Dean Collis (Cronulla), Danny Washbrook (Hull), Tim Smith (Cronulla), Matt James (Barrow), Paul Aiton (Cronulla), Richard Mathers (Castleford, on season-long loan).

Out: Chris Dean (Widnes), Paul King (York), Tommy Lee, Aaron Murphy, Luke George (all Huddersfield), Julien Rinaldi, Jarrad Hickey (both Harlequins), Ben Gledhill, Josh Veivers, Stu Howarth (all Salford), Glenn Morrison, Matt Blaymire (both retired), Michael Korkidas, Semi Tadulala (both Keighley), Liam Higgins (Sheffield), Kevin Penny (Swinton), Jeremy Smith, Kevin Henderson, Samy Masselot, Ryan Tongia, Greg Johnson (all released), Gareth Moore (Batley).

Odds to finish top: 150-1.

Prospects: Pretty much an unknown quantity, it is all change for the Wildcats under new coach Richard Agar with 18 new signings and it could take time for his new-look side to gel.

Prediction: 11th.
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Warrington Wolves

Coach: Tony Smith (since March 2009)

Captain: Adrian Morley.

2011 finish: 1st

2011 leading scorers (including play-offs): tries – Joel Monaghan 26; goals – Brett Hodgson 121; points – Brett Hodgson 314

Biggest Super League win: 62-0 (v Castleford, 2011) (also 66-6 v Halifax, 2003)

Biggest Super League defeat: 72-2 (v St Helens, 2002)

Ground and capacity: Halliwell Jones Stadium, 15,000

2011 average attendance: 11,149 (up 411)

Record Super League attendance: 14,206 (v Wakefield, 2004).

In: Trent Waterhouse (Penrith Panthers), Chris Hill (Leigh), Stefan Ratchford (Salford).

Out: Matt King (South Sydney), Louis Anderson (Catalan Dragons), Jon Clarke (Widnes), Lee Mitchell, Ryan Shaw (both Castleford on loan).

Odds to finish top: 9-4.

Prospects: Tony Smith has sensibly kept changes to a minimum and the Wolves look the team to beat in 2012. If they can keep their nerve when it comes to the play-offs, they could be celebrating a maiden Grand-Final victory.

Prediction: 1st.
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Widnes Vikings

Coach: Denis Betts (since November 2010)

Captain: Jon Clarke.

2011 finish: 5th in Championship

2011 leading scorers: tries – Steven Tyrer 12; goals – Steve Tyrer 69; points – Steve Tyrer – 186

Biggest Super League win: 46-10 (v Hull, 2003) (also won 52-22 v Halifax 2002)

Biggest Super League defeat: 70-4 (v Hull, 2004) (also lost 74-24 v Bradford, 2005)

Ground and capacity: Stobart Stadium, 13,350

2011 average attendance: 3,744 (up 886)

Record Super League attendance: 9,825 (v Warrington, 2005).

In: Willie Isa (Castleford), Shaun Briscoe (Hull KR), Ben Davies, Ben Cross (both Wigan), Frank Winterstein, Rhys Hanbury, Lloyd White, Hep Cahill (all Crusaders), Chris Dean (Wakefield), Patrick Ah Van (Bradford), Jon Clarke (Warrington), Scott Moore (St Helens), Anthony Watts (Sydney Roosters), Stefan Marsh (Wigan on season-long loan), Cameron Phelps (Hull), Sione ''John'' Kite (Melbourne).

Out: Richard Varkulis (Whitehaven), Danny Hulme, Lee Hudson, Chris Lunt (all North Wales), Chaz I'Anson (Swinton), Matt Gardner (Leigh), Danny Sculthorpe, Gareth Haggerty, Shane Grady, Dean Gaskell, Dave Houghton, Greg Scott, James Coyle, Daniel Heckenberg (all released), Tangi Ropati (Featherstone), Anthony Thackeray, Steve Tyrer (both (Halifax).

Odds to finish top: 200-1

Prospects: Denis Betts has a difficult task in moulding all his new faces into an effective unit and it could be a long, hard summer on the Vikings' return to the top flight.

Prediction: 14th.
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Wigan Warriors

Coach: Shaun Wane (since November 2011).

Captain: Sean O'Loughlin

2011 finish: 2nd

2011 leading scorers (including play-offs): tries – Sam Tomkins 28; goals – Pat Richards 115; points – Pat Richards 314

Biggest Super League win: 78-4 (v Workington, 1996)

Biggest Super League defeat: 70-0 (v Leeds, 2005)

Ground and capacity: JJB Stadium, 25,004

2011 average attendance: 15,287 (up 110)

Record Super League attendance: 25,004 (v St Helens 2005).

In: Ben Flower, Gil Dudson, Rhodri Lloyd (all Crusaders), Epalahame Lauaki (Hull), Anthony Gelling (Auckland Vulcans).

Out: Joel Tomkins (Saracens RU), Ryan Hoffman (Melbourne), Ben Davies, Ben Cross (both Widnes), Paul Deacon, Andy Coley (both retired), Eamon O'Carroll (Hull), Stefan Marsh (Widnes on season-long loan), Kark Pryce (Bradford).

Odds to finish top: 5-2.

Prospects: The Warriors are not as strong following the departure of some experienced personnel but new coach Shaun Wane will have them knocking on the door of Old Trafford.

Prediction: 2nd.
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Odds courtesy of William Hill.

Join our Super League prediction game.

2012-02-01T16:13:00.002Z

The new Super League season is only days away. In association with east London rugby league club, Barking & Dagenham Bulldgos we have created the Hot Dog Super League, via the prediction site SportGuru. Follow the link below to join us, for fun only - but we may have prizes available as we go through the season.

Join 'Hot Dog Super League -
Pool code: theedewy http://sportguru.co.uk/sh/?k=mY7hR748

Excited! Transfer Deadline Day is here. Wheel out, Jim White

2012-01-31T09:41:00.003Z

Today is Transfer Deadline Day. A day in essence I don’t agree with, but for some strange reason find compelling viewing on Sky Sports News. Natalie and Jim will be gargling salted water to protect their voices, ahead of tonight’s exciting shift.

I enjoy the adrenalin rush in Jim Whites voice when something’s about to happen and pan over to the reporter freezing outside a training ground. Nothing has happened but the reporter is carried along in the enthusiasm and makes something up. They cross again to the same reporter moments later and have missed the arrival or departure of a top star. To be told, with a finger pointing towards a helicopter or champion the wonder horse, they are just leaving. It is great T.V, although the wife doesn’t think so.

That actually sounds that I’m knocking the staff at Sky Sports News. In no way am I, they have no control in timing and their reactions and responses to all these situations are fantastic. The managers have, I’m sure, come to play along with it. Transfer Deadline Day is to stay and the Sky Sports coverage has become an institution with Jim White a legend. Natalie Sawyer plays her part, with those looks that scream ‘calm down Jim’.

The rumours have started. Kevin Davies is about to extend his stay at Bolton, which means Mackem O’Neil will turn his attentions to Emile Heskey, possibly. That comes from a bloke in an Aston Cafe eating a full English. Wayne Bridge is poised to move to Sunderland having a medical as we speak confirmed, well almost.

Thomas Eisfeld is set to join the Gunners from Dortmund, but supposedly not to go straight into the first team. Speaks French, so should be fine.

Liam Ridgewell is set for the Baggies. Adding to his ‘second city’ set, Villa, the Blues and now West Brom. Bets are now available a BetJasper for when he will move to Walsall.

Ravel Morrison, a footballing talent, who enjoys the ball at his feet and passes along the ground. He is reportedly nearing a deal with Big Sam and the Happy Hammers. Still, improve his neck muscles.

Rangers striker, Nikica Jelavic, who has been linked with a host of clubs, seems to be happy with Moyesy at Everton.

Chelsea has signed Kevin De Bruyne form Ghent. Their West London neighbours, QPR – who I predict will be very busy today, have offloaded Bradley Orr to Blackburn Rovers. Steve Keen will be popular, signing players as promised.

Outside the Premier league is exciting too. Bournemouth signed Matt Tubbs from Crawley yesterday are about to sign Matt Ritchie form Swindon.

Dave Andrews, John Still are yet to make an impact on TTD., I believe Tevez is available Dave – he would do well at the Daggers.

Still 13.5 hours to go – exciting. Good luck Natalie for tonight and trying to control Jim.

Sol y Futbol: Lanzarote's unbeaten run ended.

2012-01-31T08:51:00.002Z

Ian reports as Lanzarote go down to a single goal. No need to fear the boys will pull it back in the next couple of weeks.

C.D. VERA 1 LANZAROTE

The Rojillos eleven match unbeaten run came to an end in a six pointer against playoff rivals C.D. Vera on Sunday afternoon. This disappointing result leaves Lanzarote six points adrift of fourth spot though with two home games in succession it could all change very quickly.

The home side started the match decisively. After only five minutes winger Óliver flew past Rojillos defender Taja and centred in a perfect cross which was struck home in off the post by striker Jony leaving the Lanzarote keeper no chance in preventing a 1-0 advantage to the Tenerife side.

C.D. Vera immediately looked to extend their lead and was dominating possession however Echedey came close to restoring parity but his effort rebounded off the post and away to safety.

Lanzarote defended well and keeper Ruymán made two good saves in the final ten minutes of the first half to keep his side in with a shout as the Rojillos struggled to see out the first 45 minutes.

The second half and Lanzarote finally reacted to the pace of the game. As the minutes passed by so did the confidence and with the home side stepping back the Rojillos pressed forward. In the 58th minute Toñito struck the ball well though only saw his effort rebound off the crossbar.

In the closing minutes the Rojillos were all out attack and when Ayoze squared a pass to Toñito in the danger zone it seemed certain Lanzarote were going to draw level but the Lanzarote winger pulled his shot wide as did the hopes of the Rojillos salvaging what would have been a priceless point.

Lanzarote have slipped back to ninth spot in the table but with successive home games against clubs lower down the league and then it’s an away trip to fifth from bottom side San Andrés, all is still possible. First up on Sunday is the home match against C.D. Mensajero.

GOALS
1-0 min 5 Jony

WSN Basketball: Wasps Slay Dragons to Reclaim Fourth

2012-01-30T10:20:00.002Z

Thanks to Dave Bushall and our friends at the Wasps, for providing match report and pictures.

Hull Wasps player-coach Matt Fawcett inspired his side to overcome a sluggish start, and put an end to Bradford Dragons seven-game winning streak with a 72-64 victory on Saturday evening.

In front of a packed crowd at the Bonus Arena the Wasps found it hard to get into the game and fell behind early on. Miles Anderson and a three pointer from Adrian Blatherwick opened up the scoring for the home side but the Dragons looked sharp and opened up a six point lead to close out the first quarter 21-15 ahead.

Matt Fawcett made some swift changes in the second period and the Wasps began to claw their way back into the game. With a full team rotation mid-way through the period, the Wasps managed to close the gap by three points and go in at the half 32-35 behind.

The third period saw a very even contest continue between the two sides, who were placed fourth and fifth in the league before the evening began. John Brignell led the line for the Wasps with some strong inside scoring. The Wasps' captain scored 12 of their 17 points to bring the home side to within one-point at the end of the period (49-50).

But an inspirational Matt Fawcett and ever commanding John Brignell, led the Wasps to a commanding final quarter performance to take control of the game. The Wasps outscored their opponents 23-14 in the period to cap an outstanding fight back and win 72-64.

Following the game, Fawcett said: "It was a great fight back from the team tonight. We played well in the second half particularly. I always felt we had the team to win but we didn't do ourselves any favours with the start we had. We've been in these situations before and our experience pulled us through this time.

"It's been a hard mental recovery this week for us. The defeat at Lions last week was a big psychological blow to us I think and to bounce back tonight in the manner we did, once again shows the character of our team. I'm very proud of my players tonight and we can go away next week to Burnley with our heads held high."

The Wasps are now back into fourth position in National League 4 North but sit four points behind third-place Middlesbrough. John Brignell led the scoring for the Wasps with 22 points. Fawcett, Rayner and Anderson all scored 12 points each.

Gwrys Yn Kernow: Pirates beat the Welsh to move second

2012-01-30T10:05:00.003Z

Thanks to our friends at Cornish Pirates for providing the photo and match report.

Cornish Pirates 27-6 London Welsh

RFU Championship Round 19

Sunday 29th January 2012

Woll's Match Report

Judging by the post-match support of the Cadgwith Singers; not many noticed the gloom descending on a cold and damp Mennaye Field in the wake of comprehensive home win, that saw the Pirates finish the weekend in second spot. Barring perhaps the few hardy and vocal travelling London Welsh support, who must have known the game was up even after Davies’ first, of two penalties, had given his side the lead in the 17th minute.

Such was the manner of victory, that the last half hour was rather like a ‘pilot’ for some new reality game show, along the lines of Celebrity Mauling and Scrummaging on Mud. The Cornish pack had by then taken the game by the scruff of the neck and throttled any viable threat from the visitors, who simply couldn’t cope with the conditions that were in no small way, vile.

The pitch was a pudding underneath its deceptively green surface, and the ball a bar of soap, in a game the purists and oldsters must have salivated over as kick off approached. Even last weeks ‘man in the middle’, Ian Davies, was so excited, his pre match Granny Smith was inexplicably overlooked.

A sign of impending doom in normal times. But not today and from the first minute, as young fly half Penberthy opened up with a delightful chip touch finder into the Welsh 22. A benchmark was laid down.

In fact, the whipper-snapper stood out throughout, and utterly overshadowed his more experienced opposite number who, after incurring the wrath of JP in the 54 th minute; was withdrawn without further requirement after his detention.

That said, Aaron not unsurprisingly found himself targeted for some close attention which required Mr Doyle’s intervention on more than one occasion. Was he flustered? Let his first 47 metre penalty attempt, to give the Pirates a lead they weren’t to relinquish answer that particular query!

Beforehand, Davies, and then Cook had swapped three pointers and the Cornish 8 were beginning to rumble ominously. Ask Welsh’s Lewis as he turned inside his own 22 and close to touch, only to see Ward and others bearing down on him and nowhere to go only 5 metres out.

The resulting lineout could only mean one thing and so, with Pirate skipper Cattle being totally ignored as the line beckoned; it was Brits taking the honours and a celebratory rub down with the magic sponge.

Cook’s extras extended the lead to ten to raise hopes of further success, which duly came ten minutes later.

Marriott and Gibson had squabbled over a high ball on the Welsh 22, which resulted in the former Albion winger having to limp gingerly off; to be replaced by Ron Weasley lookalike, and former Bedford man; Hurrell.

JP had meanwhile pinged the visitors which Penberthy wasted little time in going for the corner; and a second strike to hopefully kill off the Welsh threat completely. It was a good call, which set up Ward for the second try of the game on the back of a reset maul which only had one intention.

The visitors were now staring down the barrel, which even Davies’s second and final score of the day on the stroke of half time, did little to allay. Coming as it did in fortunate circumstance on the back of a daisy cutter of a pass from Lewis, 15m out.

A clean set of shirts for JP and hosts was the only real change after the break, as McGlone continued his sides tenacious defensive effort hitherto. Jackson felt the full force of this particular collision and never really fully recovered his senses as a consequence.

Even so the men in brown…red…whatever, at least strove for a score that may give some hope of a fight back.

However with conditions become ever more like a throwback to times past, it increasingly looked a vain cause.

Evans it was then, with half an hour still left to remind everyone that were some backs out there, who won the foot race to a Cattle kick through, and nab the crucial third home try. The winning score as it transpired with little left of significance other than to record a defining image of the day.

Picture former Pirate favourite, Ma’asi, with ball in hand and moving forwards at pace. Note then Cooper’s tackle on the hooker which stopped the Tongan in his tracks, before making swift progress in the opposite direction. The turnover was the final straw and pretty much summed up the afternoon.

I think we can savour that don’t you?

Cornish Pirates
15 R. Cook 14 R. McAtee 13 A. Short (22 G. Pointer 64mins) 12 T. Cooper 11 M. Evans
10 A. Penberthy (21 C. Thomas55 mins) 9 G. Cattle (capt) (20 T. Kessell 73mins) 8 B. Maidment 7 P. Burgess 6 K. Marriott (18 M. Smith73 mins)
5 I. Nimmo (19 M. Myerscough 55mins) 4 L. McGlone 3 R. Brits (16 A. Paver 55mins) 2 D. Ward (17 T. Cowan-Dickie 73mins) 1 C. Rimmer
Replacements: all used.

Tries: Brits, Ward, Evans
Cons: Cook 3
Pens: Cook, Penberthy

London Welsh
15 A. Davies 14 L. Gibson (21 W. Hurrell 35mins) 13 H. Tonga’uiha 12 S. Jewell 11 J. Ajuwa
10 G. Ross ©(19 G. Johnson 65mins) 9 R. Lewis (20 J. Winter-Moates 61mins)
1 B. Moss (17 G. Roan 73mins) 2 S. Nelson (16 V. Ma’asi 73mins) 3 S. Pittman 4 M. Corker (18 A. Brown 65mins)
5 M. Purdy 6 B. Russell 7 M. Hills (22 E. Thrower 61mins) 8 E. Jackson
Replacements: all used
Pens: Davies 2

Yellow: Ross

Match Officials
Referee: J. P. Doyle
Assistants: Paul Kimber & Richard Parker-Sedgmore

Man of the Match: Carl Rimmer

Attendance: 1802

Match Officials
Referee: J. P. Doyle (RFU)
Assistants: Paul Kimber & Richard Parker-Sedgmore

Match Day Sponsor: Vospers

Shakespeare is inspiration for London 2012 Opening Ceremony

2012-01-27T22:59:00.003Z

Thank you to our friends at Inside the Games for this article. Let’s hope it is not going to be A Comedy of Errors. I’m sure at won’t be, looking forward to a good Olympics, just 6 months to go – GAMES ON!

By Duncan Mackay at Three Mills Studios in London

One of William Shakespeare's best-known plays, The Tempest, will be the inspiration for the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games, Oscar-winning director Danny Boyle revealed here today.

A speech by the character Caliban from the 400-year-old play will form the basis for the £27 million ($42 million/€32 million) Ceremony which will be called the Isles of Wonder and feature a giant bell and a group of nurses.

In The Tempest, Caliban is a freckled monster, who believes he is the rightful ruler of a strange island inhabited by the magician Prospero, but Boyle described his speech as "one of the most beautiful" written by Shakespeare.

Caliban's famous speech from Act 3, Scene 2, featured in the Oscar-winning film, the King's Speech, in 2010 when King George VI's speech therapist, Lionel Logue, recited it to his children.
"It is about the wondrous beauty of the island and in this case Caliban's deep, personal devotion and affection for it and that was something we all felt going into the show and wanted to reflect," said Boyle, who won an Oscar for the hit film, Slumdog Millionaire.

The Ceremony will start with the ringing of a giant bell, the biggest in Europe, which is being made by the Tower Hamlets-based Whitechapel Bell Foundry, listed by the Guinness Book of Records as the oldest manufacturing company in Britain whose history dates back to 1420, nearly 200 years before The Tempest was written.

It will inscribed with a line from a speech by Caliban: "Be not afeard, the isle is full of noises".

At an event to coincide with today marking six months to go until the start of the Opening Ceremony, Boyle revealed other themes that would run through the event, including that it would tell the story of how the land that the Olympic Park has been built on had been poisoned by industrial legacy and the way that it has been recovered.

The nurses will appear as a tribute to the National Health Service, an organisation Boyle claimed Britons took particular pride in.

"You sit there when you start this process and you think, 'What is unique about us?'...and you're trying to capture some of that," he said.

"When you see it, it will make sense, I promise."

But Boyle admitted that London had a tough job to rival the spectacular Opening Ceremony staged at the Beijing Olympics four years ago, an event that it is estimated cost more than $100 million (£64 million/€76 million) to produce.

"You are standing on the shoulder of giants when you do this kind of job because you cannot but live in the shadow of your predecessors," he said.

The scale of the Beijing event was "breathtaking" and the "sheer beauty" of Athens in 2004 was "very, very inspiring", he said, but London would take its inspiration from the 2000 Sydney Olympics, an event that represented everything Australian, from sea creatures and flora/fauna to lawn mowers and other Australian cultural icons, including 400 metres runner Cathy Freeman lighting the Flame (pictured).

Sydney has inspired us, because Sydney got the feel of a people's Games right," he added.

"It is inevitable that people will compare us - and that is fine.

"I think there is a sea change and we are lucky enough to be setting it.

"It will be spectacular but the reduction in scale is inevitable."

It was announced in December that the budget for the opening and closing ceremonies had been doubled to £81 million ($127 million/€97 million), after British Prime Minister David Cameron intervened.

Stephen Daldry, the producer of Billy Elliott, who is in charge of all four London 2012 Ceremonies - the Opening and Closing of the Olympic and Paralympic Games - defended the Government's decision.

"Even with the extra investment from Government to the ... 40 million which existed for Ceremonies in the original bid, London will be spending a lot less, considerably less, than was spent in the last two Summer Games," Daldry said.

But for those fortunate enough to get a ticket to the event it is set to be a memorable experience, promised Boyle.

"We wanted to make the feel of the opening ceremony...intimate and personal," he said.

"We didn't want to slavishly be bossed about by the TV audience, which is a billion people and it is not insignificant.

"But we wanted the 80,000 people who were lucky enough to be in there [the Stadium] to be the conduit through which you feel this experience."

More than 10,000 performers have already been recruited for the Ceremonies and more are being sought.

The PA system will be one million watts, and 25,000 costumes will be on display. Up to 900 children, aged seven to 13 (some of whom are pictured with Boyle), from the local Olympic Host Boroughs are also set for a starring role in the Ceremonies.

There are set to be two dress rehearsals in a full Olympic Stadium before the main event, meaning leaks were a risk, and the live ceremony had the "jeopardy" of things going wrong, Boyle admitted.

London 2012 have promised that they will release some details of the Ceremony in the run-up to the Games to give people a flavour of what to expect.

Boyle admitted he would have preferred to keep everything a "surprise" but that is not necessarily possibly in this hi-tech age, especially as there is such interest in it.

There will be a pre-show of about 50 minutes starting at 8.12pm - 20.12 - broadcast inside Britain before the bell opens the ceremony proper at 9pm local time.

Organisers said they hoped to keep it down to three hours, although protocol, including the walk-past of thousands of athletes, meant it would be a tough task.

Boyle has a plan for that.

"[Music directors] Underworld are making sure the marching music is at least 120 beats a minute," he said.

Contact the writer of this story at duncan.mackay@insidethegames.biz

March to the Arch 3: Spurs lucky to progress

2012-01-27T22:18:00.004Z

Welcome back to March to the Arch 3. We last visited this competition back when Cheltenham Town had just beaten Luton Town at Kenilworth Road.

Cheltenham then flew the flag for Sports Pulse into the 3rd Round. They visited White Hart Lane and were brushed aside by Tottenham, with Defoe on song. The final result being 3-0 and the Sports Pulse standard passed into the custody of Spurs.

The 4th Round, sponsored by G4S, saw Spurs travel to Watford. They left Vicarage Road with a 1-0 victory following a fortunate goal that got the Spurs out of jail. Harry witnessed his side survive a taxing game. The fact that Watford are currently struggling in the Championship, just didn't add up. The Hornets were very unlucky not to open their account, with many chances going begging.

We agree with Craig Burley from ESPN, Marvin Sordell definitely Man of the Match.

Tottenham now continue to represent Sports Pulse, as we head to the 5th Round. The draw will be on Sunday, we will bring you who Spurs play. We will also post the full merit table and a timeline of scores.

Harry left looking relieved, after a drink with his match guests, Ken Dodd and Lester Piggott (I obviously made that last bit up)

Sol y Futbol: Lanzarote win in fantastic encounter

2012-01-24T16:26:00.002Z

Ian Lane reports as Lanzarote chalk up another victory.

LANZAROTE 2 ATLÉTICO GRANADILLA 1

What a fantastic, entertaining ninety minutes of football that was played in Arrecife on Sunday. Passing from both sides was exquisite, typical of Spain’s master class race of football.

The Rojillos fell behind seconds into the second half but a wonder header from Vladi and a penalty from Jotha moved Lanzarote to within three points off a playoff spot.

The Conejeros (locals) began the game the most dominant. Shots from Jotha and Ayoze were well saved by ex Lanzarote keeper Marino and in the 14th minute Ayoze´s powerful drive came thundering off the crossbar.

As the half passed by Lanzarote´s opportunities became fewer as the Tenerife side demonstrated why they were serious contenders for a playoff spot. With four wins in the last five matches Atlético Granadilla were in sixth place and just two points from the playoffs.
The first half ended goalless as the visitors began to hold some possession and managed to weather the initial Rojillo storm.

Twenty four seconds into the second half and the Tenerife side went 0-1 up. Striker Javi received the ball on the edge of the box and with the Lanzarote back four still digesting their half time cuppa the Tenerife striker turned and hit the ball with such force that if the net had been removed the ball would still be rising.

The Rojillos responded well and immediately went in search of a leveller. Four minutes later and ex Las Palmas star Gustavo García curled in a free kick from the left. The ball arrived around the penalty spot and Vladi directed his header superbly into the bottom right hand corner beating his former team mate Marino to level the score at 1-1.

The game was now electric as Lanzarote pushed on however Granadilla looked dangerous on the break with Carlitos firing in a good drive which was well saved by Rojillos keeper Ruymán.

The 73rd minute proved to be the time the match was controversially won. Toñito, causing havoc switching flanks most of the afternoon went on a chase for the ball down the left wing. The goalkeeper flew off his line and failed to make contact with the ball and the Ref adjudged that the Granadilla keeper caught Toñito as the Lanzarote winger lay sprawled out on the floor.

Marino´s protests were in vain as the Ref awarded a spot kick and brandished a second yellow card to the Granadilla keeper. What wasn’t in doubt was the resulting penalty as Jotha fired home sending his side 2-1 up.

The ten man Tenerife side fought back, just five minutes after Lanzarote had gone in front centre back Airam came close to restoring parity when his header bounced off the bar.

The Rojillos had plenty of chances to bury the match but failed to do so and when the official held up five minutes of added on time you could feel the nervousness of the home fans.

Fortunately Lanzarote defended well and hung on to secure a massive victory. The Rojillos join three other clubs in sixth spot in the table and three points from the playoffs. Next week Lanzarote will find it tough to defend their eleven game unbeaten run when they travel to Tenerife to face the club that lies three points above them and sitting in the final playoff position C.D. Vera.

GOALS
0-1min 46 Javi
1-1min 49 Vladimir
2-1 min 73 Jotha (penalty)

Get Your Kit On: Becks with Galaxy 2012 kit/uniform

2012-01-23T09:44:00.003Z

I know it is early for the return of GYKO. You may of noticed David Beckham has recently re-signed for the MLS Champions, L.A.Galaxy. Here is the Addidas kit for the Galaxy for the coming 2012 season. Will Frank be wearing this soon?

WSN Basketball: Wasps go down to Lions

2012-01-23T09:16:00.001Z

Thanks to our friends at Hull Wasps for match note and photo.

Hull Wasps narrowly missed out at Eston Sports Academy on Sunday afternoon when they went down to Middlesbrough Lions 63-58. It was a poor start from the Wasps who struggled to get going throughout the first half.

Twelve points down at the half, the Wasps put in a strong performance in the third quarter to bring the game to within three points, but it wasn't enough as the Lions maintained their lead and claimed victory.

Matt Brutnell top scored for the Wasps with 17 points, John Brignell and Adrian Blatherwick scored 11 and 9 points respectively.

Gwrys Yn Kernow: Pirates march on to Semi Final

2012-01-23T09:09:00.004Z

Thank to our friends at Cornish Pirates, Woll for the match report and Simon Bryant for the photo.

Cornish Pirates 33-3 Nottingham

British & Irish Cup Quarter Final

Woll's Match Report

Chris Stirling was comfortable with proceedings, as were his Pirates generally; en route to their objective of joining Munster, Cross Keys and (simultaneously) Leinster as British & Irish Cup semi-finalists.

Even so; and despite rarely having to dig deep into reserves, the Pirate faithful had to wait until the hour mark before they could finally relax; thanks to some resolute defence from the visitors. Who else but the ‘Mongolian wannabee’ Ward, to deliver the goods, as he rumbled up to the back of resetting maul at the Newlyn End; before trundling over a pile of Nottingham bodies to claim his side’s third try of the afternoon.

Genghis K would have been proud.

Up till then, the result hadn’t really looked in doubt from the moment Cowan-Dickie was held up fifteen minutes in, as a youthful Cornish midfield barely old enough to eat solids had more than repelled all boarders to this point.

The much changed Midlander’s therefore found little comfort from a lively start, as their only real chance created by Stokes only highlighted the need to convert this effort into points. Something the Pirates were to punish ruthlessly with more incisive execution on the rare occasion they too found themselves within striking distance.

Two tries either side of the first quarter mark from Maidment and the new youngster Short, thus did the damage and set the platform from which the hosts would surely build on.

In tandem with the relaxed atmosphere in general though, this didn’t materialise in the first period much to the coaching team’s frustration. Not unsurprisingly a call in the changing room for more intensity was forthcoming. Particularly as a 35 th minute penalty from former Albion fly half, Hallett, reduced the gap by three; and the spectre of a disappointing cup exit at least reared its head slightly above the parapet.

This request was duly responded to from Ian Davies’s restart as Nottingham’s scrum firstly buckled and a massive hit by Sam Hill, which sat the recipient down with dignity well and truly lost; signalling the Cornishmen’s intent with little doubt.
The catalyst for success though came with a combination of new faces and the need for Morgan to hurl himself into an opposing knee to gain attention from the medics.
His withdrawal released Marriott into the fray and suddenly the score keepers were on standby for action once again. The chance for slumber now evaporated as Temujin did his bit as mentioned above, and suddenly a flurry of points looked likely.

Notts were reeling, particularly up front; and only the bulky figure of Eggleshaw offered any resistance, after he’d replaced an unusually subdued Levi. The back row it was who’s searing break provided the one of only two moments of hope for the visitors in the embers of the game late on. The other coming from Savage who did all the hard work before tripping himself with the world his oyster.

The delay in restart after Ward’s score, for some new batteries for Nick Williams’ Walkman, thus only offered a brief respite. Minutes later, and some sustained pressure on Nottingham’s line and good handling and service from Doherty (J); released Cooper into the Newlyn Gate Corner for his first try in a Pirate shirt. The delight on the centre’s face spoke volumes and no doubt added even more vigour into his own tackle time too for the remainder of the contest. Not that it was lacking after his introduction for the impressive Short, who’d exited as a precaution following an ankle ‘rollover’.

The final act came at the death as Nottingham, with nothing to lose, were turned over just outside their own 22, to gift Cook with the final seven points of the afternoon.

A thirty point margin would have to suffice then as the Pirates completed their passage into the last four at a relative canter. Credit to a youthful Nottingham side should though be underlined, and they, as well the hosts own young products, will have learned a lot from this encounter.

We now await the draw on the 30 th and what they may bring. Be it a trip to the Emerald Isle again; a visit to the Principality, or even a mouth-watering tie on home soil. Interesting times beckon methinks.

Scorers

Cornish Pirates:
Tries: Maidment, Short, Ward, Cooper, Cook
Conversions Cook 4

Nottingham:
Penalty Hallett

Cornish Pirates:

R. Cook, R. McAtee, A. Short, S. Hill, D. Doherty
A. Penberthy, G. Cattle (capt), B. Maidment, C. Morgan, D. Ewers
I. Nimmo, L. McGlone, R. Brits, T. Cowan-Dickie, C. Rimmer.
Replacements:
L. Fairbrother, D. Ward, M. Myerscough, K. Marriott
J. Doherty, A. Suniula, M. Evans.

Nottingham:

A. Savage, J. Cobden, T. Streather, J. Munro, J. Stokes
K. Hallett, F. Barnham (capt), F. Levi, T. Calladine, R. Cooper
L. Morley, M. Todd, M. Shields, O. Taylor, R. Olive.
Replacements:
M. Holloway, M. Holford, P. Eggleshaw, J. Baird
N. Jones, N. Greenhalgh, J. Stokes.

Match Officials
Referee Ian Davies (WRU) Porthcawl
AR1 Nick Williams Somerset
AR2 Brian Ravenhill Gloucestershire
NO 4 Andy Bickle Devon

Match Observer John Haggart Leicestershire

Pirates TV Man Of The Match Ben Maidment

Match Day Sponsor: St. Austell Brewery

Sol y Futbol: Lanzarote left in the dark in La Palma.

2012-01-18T08:50:00.002Z

Ian Lane reports from a wet and dark La Palma, Ha!(sorry uncalled for).

U.D. TIJARAFE 1 LANZAROTE 1
(Match suspended in 82nd min due to floodlight failure)

With eight minutes left to play and in the middle of a storm the floodlights failed leaving the Ref no option but to suspend the match. Lanzarote offered to complete the remaining eight minutes the following morning but this offer was declined by the La Palma club. The Spanish Football Federation will now decide what will happen regarding those missing eight minutes.

The La Palma side had the better of the opening exchanges and deservedly went in front midway through the first half from a strike by centre forward Borja.

This set back seemed to be what was needed to get the Rojillos into gear. In the 28th minute defender David Dorta powerfully headed towards goal only to see the ball glance back off the crossbar and away to safety. Four minutes later and Ayoze had a great chance to level matters but the goalkeeper produced a brilliant reflex save to maintain his side’s 1-0 advantage.

In the 36th minute Lanzarote were awarded a penalty for a foul committed by defender Mutasi. Ayoze fired in the resulting spot kick only to see goalkeeper Heimann guess correctly and produce another inspired save which gave his side the one goal advantage to take into the break.

Lanzarote dominated possession in the opening stages of the second period but created few chances. In the 53rd minute Toñito had a clear strike at goal but his effort flew disappointingly wide.

In the 71st minute Lanzarote were rewarded for their dominance. A strike at goal from the edge of the box was only semi cleared by the La Palma defence and Rosmen picked up the pieces by firing the ball home to level matters.

The home side then stepped up their defence which evened up the balance of play but then darkness fell in Tijarafe as the players tried to find their way to the dressing room.

With this none event Lanzarote has slipped to 10th and are 6 points from the play offs with eight minutes in hand. Next Sunday Lanzarote are at home against sixth placed side Atlético Granadilla. Kick off time will be confirmed in the latter part of the week.

GOALS
1-0min 22 Borja
1-1min 71 Rosmen

WSN Basketball: Wasps beat Mohawks, but suffer defeat at Raptors

2012-01-17T09:14:00.002Z

Thanks to our friends at Hull Wasps for providing the match reports from both weekend games.

Saturday

Hull Wasps were unfortunate to be on the end of a 102-78 defeat from Rossendale Raptors on Saturday evening. The Wasps held their own against the league leaders for much of the game with just a 1 point margin between them at the end of the first and second quarters.

Wasps paid the price for fouls and consequently lost John Brignell mid-third quarter, and John Kelsey in the fourth before the Raptors extended their lead to close out the game.

"We were held back tonight by many things beyond our control" said Wasps coach Matt Fawcett.

"But I'm really proud of my players and the way we competed tonight. We had our game plan and it was working. We opened up a good 8 or 9 point lead in the first half and were taking control of the game.

"We let them back in unfortunately and with the fouling situation at the end, we lost that control and ultimately it cost us. The players will be tired now after their hard work but we'll come back tomorrow more determined to win."
Tees Valley Mohawks II visit the arena tomorrow in the second part of this weekend's double-header. Tip-off 7:30pm.

Sunday.

Hull Wasps immediately bounced back from Saturday's Rossendale defeat, with an 81-80 overtime win over Tees Valley Mohawks II at the Bonus Arena.

The Wasps marginally edged the opening exchanges and took a three-point lead in at the first break. The Mohawks, who had their Saturday game against Oldham cancelled, looked more energetic and began to take control toward the end of the second quarter with a run which saw them create a 6 point lead going into the half-time break.

A very even third quarter resumed with the Wasps still behind by 5 points, but a spirited final quarter performance saw the home side close the gap and level the score. At 72-72, the Wasps had a chance to seal the win on the buzzer through Adrian Blatherwick, but the regular sharp-shooter missed the target.

A five-minute period of overtime commenced, keeping the suspense alive for the home fans. In a frantic five-minute period, the Wasps took a 1-point lead with just seconds left. Tees Valley had one final chance to win the game but the Wasps defence dug in and a desperate double-block from Matt Brutnell and John Brignell ensured an 81-80 victory for the Wasps.

“I’m extremely proud of my players this weekend” said Wasps coach Matt Fawcett.
“We played hard all weekend and put in maximum effort. I’m thrilled with the overtime win tonight and it was the very least that we deserved over these two games. We were extremely unfortunate yesterday to lose that game in the manner which we did but the way that we bounced back tonight was terrific.

“We dug deep even though there were many players with very tired legs out there. Tees Valley were more fresh than us with no game yesterday but we have big characters in this team and we’ll march on from here.”

Wasps remain fourth in National League 4 North, heading to third-placed Middlesbrough next week looking to stay in contention for the play-offs.

Big Puck Reports: Chieftains move back to the top.

2012-01-16T14:26:00.003Z

Big Puck Reports, thanks to Pete Lewis and our friends at britishicekockey.com, for the report on the Chieftains weekend.

A superb double victory over the weekend saw the Chieftains rise back to the top of the English National League (South) after wins over Slough and local rivals and title challengers Romford Raiders.

A struggle to get going in the first two periods on Saturday night saw the team 5-2 ahead in an unconvincing performance with the goals coming from James Ayling, Alan Green, Danny Cox, Darren Elliott and man of the match Jakub Klima. In the third it was a different story altogether as Ross Brears, Danny Wright and Klima with his second rounded out a fine performance with the team seemingly having one eye on Sunday's top of the table clash at Rom Valley Way.

Onto Sunday and it was a tale of two teams as the Chieftains took advantage of the indisciplined Raiders side in a dominating performance which saw the Chelmsford side outplay the Raiders on every part of the ice. Chelmsford, having not won in the league at Romford for 8 years, took the game by the scruff of the neck early on and Romford seemed unable to cope with the pressure heaped on them and resorted to physicality which saw a procession of players head to the penalty box. Having said that, Glenn Jackson in the Romford net had a solid game and allowed just 2 goals in the first period of play from player coach Gary Clarke and Danny Hammond, who would go on to net again in the second and pick up the man of the match beers. A large scuffle broke out at the end of the first period as the teams were leaving the ice when Shaun Wallis clashed with Klima and both sets of players piled in to support their team-mates, but it was Danny Cox and Billy Phillips who dropped the gloves with Chelmsford's Cox taking a decisive win. In the second the Chieftains continued their domination and ran in another unanswered goal from Hammond and the large travelling contingent of fans were outsinging the home fans as their team led 3-0 with 20mins to play. 9 minutes into the final session and Anthony Leone netted for the home side, before Tom Long notched his 24th goal of the season. The Chieftains held on and in doing so took themselves back to the top of the league, ahead of next Sunday's clash at the Riverside when the two sides go head-to-head again in the final league clash between the two sides this season.

Gwrys Yn Kernow: Pirates victorious in tough Esher test

2012-01-16T14:05:00.003Z

Thank you to our friends at the Pirates for the match report and photo's.

Esher 30-36 Cornish Pirates

RFU Championship Round 18

Molesey Road Esher

Saturday 14th January 2012

Phil Westren's Match Report

The Cornish Pirates expected a tough examination against a revived Esher side at Molesey Road on Saturday, and that's exactly how things turned out. Showing character to maintain a desire to achieve victory, however, it was wing David Doherty's 73rd minute try, his second in the match, that proved crucial.

If there were any Cornish Pirates supporters about who doubted that the much improved 'EEEs' side would be a threat, then they were quickly forced into a rethink. Esher's fly-half Mark Atkinson opened the scoring with successful penalty kicked in just the first minute, and with tries from talented winger Charlie Walker and lock Matthew Symons, both converted by Atkinson, the home side opened up a 17-0 lead with just a quarter of the game gone.

The Pirates, needless to say, just had to respond, and they did with two tries scored within the space of just four minutes. Industrious prop Paul Andrew crossed for their opening score and the second came from the experienced Chris Morgan who had not long replaced injured flanker Charlie Walker-Blair. Full-back Rob Cook added both conversions and at 17-14 the Pirates were back in touch as the half-hour mark approached. Confirming a sudden resurgence it was not long before the visitors nudged ahead with an unconverted try scored by wing David Doherty, only for Esher to regain the lead before the break when Atkinson's second penalty of the match made it 20-19.

Reflecting on the first half, the Pirates could feel pretty satisfied that they had recovered so well, and there was also the bonus of witnessing two youngsters, fly-half Aaron Penberthy and hooker Tom Cowan-Dickie, beginning to settle in nicely in their first Championship 'starts'.

Tom Cooper replaced centre Grant Pointer all but from the start of the second half, and with Andrew again looking lively and making a couple of fine tackles, applied early pressure saw the Pirates gifted a penalty, duly slotted by Cook.
Back in the lead provided extra encouragement, but only briefly, as Esher secured possession and built the phases with pace and purpose from the restart, their advance ending with a try scored by full-back Ross Chisholm. The conversion to follow was not easy, and Atkinson's effort missed from wide out.

Two more replacements now entering the fray for the Pirates were lock Laurie McGlone and hooker Dave Ward. Big 'Lozza' was making a welcome return to action, soon though to be interrupted, for as Esher built for another score he was unfortunately shown a yellow card by referee Mr. Tutty.

Of no surprise the 'EEEs' quickly proceeded to benefit from numerical advantage. Former Pirates lock James Inglis gathered possession for Esher at the line-out, and after the pack drove forward scrum-half Jamie Mackenzie's unconverted try opened up an eight points gap.

Time to worry? Yes. Wait a minute - make that no, as the response from the Pirates was all but immediate, and there great credit to Penberthy who had the confidence to see the opportunity to chip the ball and chase and apply pressure for a well taken try. It was the Cornish side's fourth of the afternoon, a bonus point providing effort, and Cook's conversion also took the Pirates to within a point of their hosts.
There had been frustration for the Pirates at some of the penalty decisions that had gone against them, and they were fortunate that on the hour mark Atkinson missed with a penalty effort from 30 metres out, it a, an undoubted 'cert' that tension would increase still further in the last quarter.

There was credit to the home side whose support play was excellent at times, and played at pace, but the Pirates would mount the pressure after propelling the ball deep into Esher's half.

A shunt from McGlone, following a line-out, took him close, and replacement scrum-half Kessell also made a dart for the line, only for the Pirates to be penalised for 'crossing'.

Esher worked their way up field but were soon pinned back by Cook, and this time the Pirates would take advantage of acquired territory. Good work by Kessell initiated the ball being transferred through the hands for it to eventually find Doherty on the left, and the clinical finisher raced in for the well converted match-winner.
In a frantic final few seconds a kinder bounce of the ball could have allowed Esher's Walker to cross for a second try, and the possibility of a match-winning conversion, but it was not to be.

This had been a thrilling contest, with nine tries scored in a 'Thriller at the Pillar', to make part reference to the Molesey Road ground's previously used name. The 'EEEs' were left with the consolation of two bonus points and feelings of what might have been, whereas the Pirates, with a much changed side and one that included several gifted young guns, had ultimately passed this test admirably.

Esher:

R. Chisholm, P. Mackenzie, T. Cheeseman (capt), A. Cruickshanks, C. Walker
M. Atkinson, J. Mackenzie (A. Garner 69), M. Macfarlane, S. Stitcher, C. Goodman
J. Inglis, M. Symons, W. Collier (R. Nebbett 69), J. Campbell, D. Millard.

Replacements (not used):
S. Renwick, J. Doherty, K. Corrigan, G. Griffiths, N. Little.

Cornish Pirates:

R. Cook, M. Evans, G. Pointer (T. Cooper 41), S. Hill, D. Doherty
A. Penberthy, J. Doherty (T. Kessell 64), B. Maidment, C. Walker-Blair (C. Morgan 20), K. Marriott (capt)
M. Smith (L. McGlone 50) I. Nimmo, R. Brits (L. Fairbrother 64), T. Cowan-Dickie (D. Ward 50), P. Andrew (C. Rimmer 56).

Yellow card: McGlone.

Scorers

Esher
Tries: Walker, Symons, Chisholm, Mackenzie
Penalties: Atkinson 2
Conversions: Atkinson 2

Cornish Pirates
Tries: Paul Andrew, David Doherty 2, Chris Morgan, Aaron Penberthy
Penalties:Cook
Conversions: Cook 4

Match officials

Referee: Mr Michael Tutty, Hertfordshire
Referee: Coach: Keith Page, Hampshire
AR 1: Mr Matthew Carley, Kent
AR2: Mr Christopher Seeley, Warwickshire

WSN Basketball: Comfortable win over Titans

2012-01-13T15:14:00.003Z

Hull Wasps got the New Year off to a good start with a comfortable 79-60 victory at Oldham Titans on Saturday evening.

The Wasps got off to a flying start and stunned the home side in the opening quarter with a 27-9 run which effectively closed off the game.

That gave Wasps player-coach Matt Fawcett the opportunity to shuffle the pack for the rest of the game, managing to use all 10 players available. Wasps were perhaps guilty of taking their foot off the gas during the rest of the game with very even quarters either side of the half-time break.

A late rally in the final quarter from the Titans only managed to close the gap by 5 points and Hull ran out comfortable winners.

Following the game, Fawcett said: “We played our game very well tonight. I must admit, I was surprised the energy levels I’ve seen from the players this week since coming back after the Christmas break, but it was great to see.

“We knew what we had to do here tonight and we did it very well. We’re a little guilty of slacking off after the first quarter but we know there’s a good few months to go until the end. We controlled the game very well and that’s what was important.

“We had a few big names missing for us tonight including Miles [Anderson] who had to pull out at the last minute with flu. But tonight’s performance shows that we have a good squad capable of performing when needed. That will be a key element to our success this season and we’ll now look forward to the double-header at home this weekend.”

Hull Wasps welcome league leaders Rossendale Raptors to the arena this coming Saturday, followed by Tees Valley Mohawks on the Sunday. It will be one of the toughest weekends of basketball for the Wasps as they take on a Rossendale Raptors side who, after recruiting former BBL professional Stephen Gayle, have secured top-spot in the league with seven straight wins.

The Tees Valley clash on Sunday will provide another stern test for the Wasps after they tasted defeat there earlier in the season.

John Kelsey, James Rayner, Jason Munro, Miles Anderson and Liam Lacey are all hoping to make a return this weekend but will report to training later this week before coach Fawcett can assess their fitness.

World in Union: Review of Round 13 Aviva Premiership

2012-01-10T12:17:00.001Z

As always thanks to our friends at Aviva.

Round 13 also saw Northampton Saints hitting form as Harlequins came off second best at Franklins Gardens. Leicester Tigers are also starting to show better form as they overcame Wasps at Welford Road by 29 points to 11. In the other games, the scores were all tight as teams look to push for a top-four qualification place. Worcester Warriors claimed bragging rights over their local neighbours Gloucester, while London Irish edged out Sale Sharks in a tight game at Madejski and Newcastle Falcons narrowly succumbed to Exeter Chiefs at Kingston Park.

On Friday at Franklin’s Gardens Northampton Saints produced a disciplined and ruthless performance to defeat Aviva Premiership Rugby leaders Harlequins and record their seventh win of their last eight outings. Fly-half Ryan Lamb kicked 13 points and Ben Foden and Roger Wilson scored tries for the Saints, while Harlequins were left rueing the absence of their first choice fly-half Nick Evans. Final score: Northampton Saints 24, Harlequins 3.

On Saturday Leicester Tigers’ fly-half Billy Twelvetrees scored all his side’s points as they continued their winning run with a convincing win over London Wasps at Welford Road. Twelvetrees, playing in place of injured Toby Flood at fly-half, pounced for two tries, five penalties and two conversions in blustery conditions. Wasps replied with a try from Nic Berry converted by Elliot Daly. Final score: Leicester Tigers 29, London Wasps 11.

Over at Kingston Park, Exeter Chiefs took a major step towards Aviva Premiership Rugby safety with a hard-fought win at Newcastle Falcons, who themselves managed a losing bonus point. Haydn Thomas scored a try for the Chiefs with fly-half Ignacio Mieres kicking the conversion, two penalties and a drop goal. Newcastle’s scoring came from a try from Tim Swinson with a conversion and a penalty from the boot of Jimmy Gopperth. Final score: Newcastle Falcons 10, Exeter Chiefs 16.
It was derby day at a sold-out Sixways as Worcester Warriors faced Gloucester Rugby and took another giant stride away from the Aviva Premiership Rugby relegation zone. Worcester’s fly-half Andy Goode guided the hosts to victory in the second half after initially trailing 10-6 at half-time. Goode wiped out that deficit within six minutes of arriving off the bench when he converted his own try to follow a couple of earlier Joe Carlisle penalties. Goode then added a penalty of his own before ex-Gloucester wing Marcel Garvey sprinted 80 metres for a stunning touchdown. Final score: Worcester Warriors 21, Gloucester Rugby 15.

On Sunday London Irish made up for their hammering at Bath last week by recording a sixth Aviva Premiership Rugby victory of the season as they edged past Sale Sharks in a tense second half at the Madejski Stadium. The boot of fly-half Adrian Jarvis saw off the visitors after Irish head coach Toby Booth took off Aviva Premiership Rugby’s leading points scorer, Tom Homer, during the second half. Tries came from Bryn Evans and Topsy Ojo for Irish and from Rob Miller for Sale Sharks. Final score: London Irish 21, Sale Sharks 19.

The 2000th Premiership Rugby match took place at Vicarage Road on Sunday and saw Saracens move closer to Aviva Premiership Rugby leaders Harlequins with a win over Bath. Owen Farrell kicked 16 points but missed another 12 in a hard-fought victory that marked the 2000th game since Bath and Newcastle played the first match on August 23rd 1997. Tries came from All Black fly-half and World Cup winner Stephen Donald for Bath, who struck in the fifth minute, and from Steve Borthwick and Chris Wyles for Saracens. Final score: Saracens 26, Bath Rugby 19.

Sol y Futbol: Rojillos let slip a two goal advantage

2012-01-09T15:10:00.002Z

Happy New year to all followers of Sol y Futbol, life has returned to normal on the island, football is back. Ian Lane posts the first report of the year.

LANZAROTE 2 LAS PALMAS B 2

Ten man Rojillos let slip a two goal advantage with the visitor’s levelling the match in the 89th minute. Nevertheless the Rojillos extend their unbeaten run to eight games but have slipped to mid table and are now five points from the play offs.

The Rojillos got off to a flying start dominating the opening stages. Javi Betancort came close in the eighth minute only to see his strike deflected away to safety.

In the 12th minute the Rojillos took the lead from a corner with a header from David Dorta. His team mates were quick to congratulate the Tenerife defender after speculation that he was about to follow goalkeeper Santi Lampón and leave the club in the January transfer window.

The Gran Canarian side restored the balance of possession but it was the Conejeros (locals) who looked the more dangerous of the two sides. On the half hour and in the space of two minutes winger Toñito created two good opportunities for team mates Gustavo García and Ayoze but both were unable to complete the good work created from Toñito.
In the 38th minute the course of the game began to favour the yellow and blues of Las Palmas when Sixto was harshly awarded his second yellow card of the day and the Rojillos were forced to play the remainder of the match with 10 men.
Two minutes before half time and Lanzarote had a marvellous opportunity to double their lead. A deadly cross from the by-line across the six yard box by Ayoze found defender Ángel Gil on the far post but somehow from three yards the defender missed the target and only managed to fire his shot into the side netting with the goalkeeper caught in no man’s land.

It was hard to notice that the Rojillos were a man short as they pressed forward in search of the second goal cushion though the score remained 1-0 at the break in favour of the Conejeros.

The visitors were fired up at the beginning of the second half but the league´s best defence stood firm and in the 58th minute Lanzarote caught their opponents on the break which allowed Ayoze a free strike at goal from inside the box but his effort sailed high and over towards the scorching sun.

In the 65th minute Lanzarote deservedly went 2-0 up from a 25 yard strike by Jotha which eased the tension among the fans. This tension returned only three minutes later when striker Omar struck an absolute beauty from a free kick just outside the box reducing the deficit to 2-1.

This goal gave the visitors a major boost and Lanzarote were forced to defend in numbers. In the 89th minute Lanzarote keeper failed to deal with a corner and the ball hit defender Adrián on the thigh and trickled over the goal line to give Las Palmas B a share of the spoils.

The Rojillos weren’t finished yet as they desperately went in search of the full three points. As Lanzarote launched the ball deep into their opponent’s territory late in stoppage time Rosmen connected firmly with a header only to see the ball bounce off the bar for the umpteenth time this season for the tall striker.

The game may have ended as a draw but even the Las Palmas coach stated in the post match press conference that his side were fortunate to travel back to Gran Canaria with a point.

Lanzarote should be boosted by this performance which possibly was the best game they have played this season. Next week the Rojillos travel to La Palma to play 16th placed side U.D. Tijarafe.

GOALS
1-0min 12 David Dorta
2-0min 65 Jotha
2-1min 68 Omar
2-2min 89 Adrián (own goal)

French groups protest FIFA plan to lift ban on hijab

2012-01-09T10:46:00.001Z

This article, by Duncan Mackay, taking in full from our friends at Inside the Game.

A proposal to allow female Muslim footballers to wear the hijab during matches has been criticised by several groups in France, who have written to FIFA President Sepp Blatter to protest.

FIFA's ruling Executive Committee decided last month to put forward a proposal to lift the ban on women wearing the Islamic headscarf and it will be put before the International Football Association Board (IFAB) at its next meeting in London on March 3.

But a letter signed by the League of International Women's Rights (LDIF), FEMIX'SPORTS and the French Coordination for the European Women's Lobby have claimed that it would be unfair discrimination.

"To accept a special dress code for women athletes not only introduces discrimination among athletes but is contrary to the rules governing sport movement, setting a same dress code for all athletes without regard to origin or belief," the three groups said in the letter seen by insidethegames.

The groups claim that if the ban is lifted it would contravene FIFA's own rules, as well as those of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

"FIFA rules are clear: 'The basic compulsory equipment must not contain any political, religious or personal statements' (law 4)," the letter said.

"So is the Olympic Charter: 'No kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic site, venues or other areas' (rule 51)."

France banned Muslim women from wearing hijab in public places in 2004 and the face-veil in 2011.

The proposal to lift the ban has been led by Prince Ali Bin Hussein of Jordan, the vice-president of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

It followed a number of controversies involving Iran's women teams, including being forced to forfeit an Olympic London 2012 qualifying match against Jordan after not being allowed to play with the full Islamic headscarf and being briefly banned from the Summer Youth Olympic Games in Singapore in 2010 for the same reason before a compromise was reached.

The reasons for the FIFA reversal are unacceptable," the French groups said in their letter to Blatter.

"It is now alleged that the hijab may be accepted as a 'cultural rather than a religious symbol' and therefore no longer contradicts the rule.

"FIFA is therefore accepting the recommendation of the workshop that took place in Amman last October, under the authority of FIFA vice-president prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein in order to satisfy the most conservative Islamic states.

"To maintain that the hijab is a cultural rather than a religious symbol is not only preposterous it is untrue.

"Nor can you ignore the fact that the dispute between FIFA and the Iranian regime is linked to Tehran's desire to impose its own religious law on women's sport.

"Sport must stay clear of political and religious interference. Its aim is also to eliminate all forms of discrimination.

"The FIFA ruling is about to abandon this noble aim and FIFA will be accountable for this."

Contact the writer of this story at duncan.mackay@insidethegames.biz

Big Puck Reports: Not a great start to 2012

2012-01-09T09:05:00.003Z

We will catch up with the Chieftains, below is a report from the first weekend in 2012. Later today or tomorrow. 'Young' Pedro Lewis will update us on the weekends shenanigans at the Essex Capital. Thanks to Pete Lewis and the team for the report.

CHIEFTAINS LOSE NEW YEAR OPENER, BUT BOOSTED OFF THE ICE
02nd January 2012

New year was not great for the Chieftains as they went down 8-5 to Romford Raiders in the South East trophy in what was effectively a dead rubber match as Romford had already won the trophy. However it was an incident packed game in which neither side backed down and it was only thanks to some great saves and good fortune shining on both netminders that the scoreline was kept at what it was. The Chieftains took the early lead through Danny Hammond and things were looking promising for the Chelmsford side. 5 minutes later and the gloves came off as youngster Cameron Bartlett showed immense courage to fight Romford hardman Andrius Kaminskas in what turned out to be a one-sided fight with Kaminskas taking Bartlett apart. Credit must go to young Cameron though as many senior players would think twice about dropping them with 'Bomber' so for a lad like him to do so willingly took some going. Shortly after Raiders captain Anthony Leone got the first of his pair of goals, while Juraj Huska and Matt Turner also netted before the end of the first to give the home side a 3-1 lead. The second period was also a 3-1 affair but the Chieftains were the winners of this period running in goals from James Ayling and a pair from Jakub Klima. There was also time in this period for another bout of fisticuffs as Danny Cox of the Chieftains dropped the gloves with JJ McGrath for a decent scrap with Cox just taking the spoils. Again though the Chieftains were unable to capitalise on the momentum shift and the period ended 4-4.

Into the third and Romford ran away with it and ran in 4 goals to the Chieftains 1 with 3 ex-Chieftains scoring in the form of Jason Buckman, Tyrone Miller and man of the match Matt Turner. Grant Taylor got Romford's other goal while Gary Clarke got the lone consolation goal.

Away from the ice and the Chieftains were given a massive boost over new year as Oxford City Stars made the shock announcement they were withdrawing from the league with immediate effect, thus meaning the Chieftains became only 2 points behind Romford on equal games rather than 1 point and 1 game behind. This means if the Chieftains win all their remaining games, including both games against Romford, then they would become league champions.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gwrys Yn Kernow: Pirates victorious after a tight game

2012-01-09T08:57:00.004Z

As always, thanks to the Pirates and Woll for the match report and also Simon Bryant for the photograph.

Cornish Pirates 26-24 Nottingham

RFU Championship Round 17

Sunday 8th January 2012

Mennaye Field Penzance

Woll's Match Report

Chris Stirling had every right to feel proud of his charges, as they emerged victorious from a pulsating game that could so easily have run away from them well before half time.

Up against the wall and fourteen points in deficit after half an hour; sensible pundits may have concluded that the Pirates were in a bad place and on the verge of something worse. Unless…

A first minute penalty from Arlidge had provided an early boost for the visitors who; like their hosts; were looking to quickly bounce back from a New Year loss of their own.

The Pirates to their credit responded well enough to this early setback but, unlike their opponents in these initial exchanges were unable to find any accuracy when it matteNot unsurprisingly then when the blue and white clad ‘Green & Whites’ made further in roads towards the Penzance End, it was they who enjoyed the spoils.
Not for the first time in his career, it was Socino doing the damage, as he exploited the only gaps available to provide firstly Lewington; whilst Locke was down after a clash of heads; and Streather, with a couple of tries and some breathing space. Arlidge easily added the extras on both occasions and all things were seemingly rosy for Delaney’s merry men.

But nothing stays the same in sport for long even in the length of a rugby match and, slowly if not surely at first; the Pirates began the process for easily their best recovery from adversity to date this season.

Eventual man of the match, Dave Ward was never far from the action and began to create havoc at the breakdown. Quell surprise! This gave impetus where none had been present before and, backed up ably by a pack with Cowan at last firing in a manner we have seen before but not for a while; it was the Pirates pack who stepped in and asserted themselves.

For the first time Nottingham creaked and quickly buckled as, despite some illegal intervention at maul time from Levi, which earned him a spell on the plastic garden furniture; it was the hosts who ended the half with a surge and some points, to add to Cook’s solitary penalty hitherto.

Importantly there was no time for a riposte as Mr Campbell called a halt and only now seven points in it, courtesy of Cowan’s manhandling over the line.
The swing in ascendancy had come with some collateral damage though as Locke left the field of play just prior to the try. The centre clearly in discomfort with a collar bone injury which, post- match, was confirmed as not being too serious.
For the purpose of the exercise though, this enabled the introduction of the ever improving Sam Hill whose impact was immediate; defensively and offensively. Indeed when joined by debut boy, Penberthy; this youthful pairing began to impose themselves as they played without fear. Something that is often so elusive, but so effective when it comes off.

Nottingham meanwhile had even less options available as Wilson had to get Levi to budge up on the chair, following his careless upending of Cowan with only two minutes of the second period completed.

Cook’s penalty reduced the gap to only four now and the self-belief was now palpable both on and off the park.

Hammond’s remaining troops were now reduced to slowing things down but were unable to execute to the same infamous level as Moseley did a few seasons ago. The Pirates however were in no mood not to capitalise on this two man advantage this time round, as the Midlander’s stifling tactics quickly came unstuck in the face of some fierce work at the breakdown from the Cornish forwards.

With half an hour remaining the Pirates finally got their noses in front; briefly at least, when Pointer was eventually put through wide in the Clubhouse Corner.
Suddenly we could believe, but confirmation was put on hold after a bizarre sequence of events. In the aftermath of Cook’s touchline conversion attempt just running out of puff; both Levi and Wilson trotted back on with a couple of replacements as cover we suspected.

Either way, Nottingham were back to their full complement and immediately back in front, as Kalamafoni impressively impersonated some kind of heavy plant. The back row monster ploughing his way through a legion of Pirate defenders and leaving three of them motionless and requiring the smelling salts before taking further part in proceedings. Rather appropriate given it being Plough Sunday!

But that was as far as they could go as Nimmo’s intervention to a faltering ruck sent a clear message of intent as to which way this game would likely go.
Penberthy’s introduction signalled further improvement as Thomas made way for the Cornish youngster’s first taste of Championship rugby. Barring one charge down, which came to nothing anyway, the teenager more than coped and linked well with Cattle and Hill to earn himself a notable tick in his copy book.

Momentum then was with the home side and, with the final quarter now upon us, it was time for the pack to light the wick once more. A series of scrums had the Notts men on the back foot and a penalty try surely imminent as, with Mr Campbell signalling advantage after a 5 th push-n-shove went awry, Doherty went over in the Scoreboard Corner to almost level it.

Cook’s second touchline attempt faded and what would surely have been the lead from arguably a pot from in front of the sticks, went begging. It mattered not.
Five minutes later and it was the human bulldozer, Kalamafoni, who now found himself under pressure as McAtee caught him napping in his own 22. The resultant penalty from Cook was good, and the lead regained; albeit by only two points.
Delaney’s chaps were now rattled and it showed as their penchant for committee meetings before a lineout, and any other restart for that matter; finally got the man in the middle’s ‘goat’; Mr Campbell reversing a throw in to the hosts, in a dangerous field position as well.

Time and territory finally ended any hope of another lead change and it was the Cornishmen who ended with the points, in the sort of contest that can change a course of a season. Esher beckons next and we all can recall what can happen there but, should the Pirates return with another ‘W’ from there…watch out London Welsh.

Cornish Pirates

15 R. Cook 14 R. McAtee 13 G. Pointer 12 D. Locke (20 S. Hill 36mins) 11 D. Doherty
10 C. Thomas (21 A. Penberthy58 mins) 9 G. Cattle (capt) 8 B. Maidment (19 K. Marriott 68mins) 7 C. Morgan 6 B. Cowan
5 M. Myerscough 4 I. Nimmo 3 A. Paver (1 P. Andrew77mins) 2 D. Ward 1 P. Andrew (16 C. Rimmer 58mins)
Replacements: un-used 17 T. Cowan-Dickie, 18 M. Smith, 22 J. Doherty

Tries: Cowan, Pointer, Doherty
Cons: Cook
Pens: Cook 3

Nottingham

15 A. Savage 14 A. Lewington 13 T. Streather 12 J. P. Socino 11 J. Cobden
10 J. Arlidge 9 S. Romans (21 F. Barnham 71mins) 8 R. De Carpentier (19 L. Morley 51mins) 7 B. Wilson 6 S. Kalamafoni 4 C. Hammond (20 R. Cooper 71mins)
5 F. Levi 3 M. Shields (17 B. Prescott 51mins) 2 J. Duffey (capt) 1 M. Parr (18 M. Holford 28mins)
Replacements: un-used 16 O. Taylor, 22 J. Munro
Tries: Lewington, Streather, Kalamafoni
Cons: Arlidge 3
Pens: Arlidge
Yellow: Levi, Wilson

Match Officials
Referee: Ross Campbell (RFU)
Assistants: Jonathan Healy & Steve Leyshon

Attendance: 2,026

Man of the Match: Dave Ward

Gwrys Yn Kernow: New Year Blues for the Pirates

2012-01-03T08:44:00.004Z

Welcome back and Happy New Year too you all. Thanks to all at the Pirates for the match report and the picture.

Bedford Blues 32-13 Cornish Pirates

RFU Championship Round 16
Goldington Road Bedford
Sunday 1st January 2012

Phil Westren's Match Report
2012 started on a high note for Bedford Blues but on a low for the Pirates as first half lapses in defence gifted the home side a worthy victory. With the Cornish side also beaten 34-24 by Bedford at the Mennaye Field in October, in recording this win the Blues thus made it a double in Stage One of this season's RFU Championship.

Playing down the slope in front of a packed Goldington Road ground, the Pirates were keen to make a good start in what was an explosive opening to the game. However, it was Bedford who created the sparks to set the field alight when fly-half Jake Sharp made a break and passed to centre Henry Staff who crossed out wide for the game's opening try. Full-back James Pritchard was unable to add the extras.

It was not before the Blues extended their lead, Sharp once again the creator who took advantage of a hole in the Pirates defence to send impressive young wing Josh Bassett in for his eleventh try of the season. Skipper Pritchard this time slotted the easier conversion on offer.

The Pirates needed to respond positively, and they did. A run from full-back Rob Cook gave them the impetus to apply pressure deep in Bedford's half, and from a line-out pack power was rewarded for hooker Dave Ward to be identified ultimately as the try-scorer. Cook's conversion from wide missed.

Following sound work at the line-out and a break made by skipper and scrum-half Gavin Cattle it was not long before the Pirates threatened once more, forcing Bedford to defend close to their line. Pressure created would again tell, this time with a penalty awarded which Cook struck successfully to make the scoreline 12-8.

Back in the match was boost for the Pirates, but the feeling was short lived as their defence would again let them down. Bedford's scrum-half Darryl Veenendaal was this time on hand to record their third try of the afternoon, and Pritchard duly added the conversion.

Seeking a bonus point providing fourth try before the break, and roared on by their crowd, it was not long coming. Centre Brendan Burke's dash was thwarted by a fine tackle made by Pirates lock Matt Smith, but the delay was momentary, as maintaining the squeeze enabled flanker Sacha Harding to register the five points sought. Pritchard's conversion added two extra.

The Pirates had no argument. Bedford deserved their lead and actually extended it still further in the 39th minute when Sharp almost cheekily landed a dropped goal to make it 29-8.

It was already likely 'game over', and with the Pirates having to play up the slope it would surely be, quite literally, an uphill battle.

A penalty from Pritchard extended Bedford's lead early in the second period, but the Pirates responded to show character and eventually wore down Bedford's defensive resolve to score their second try of the match through flanker Chris Morgan. Cook's conversion unluckily bounced back off the right post.

Making a number of changes in personnel the Pirates continued to play with extra vigour. Cook displayed considerable spirit, as did Ward and flanker Phil Burgess, and with centre Drew Locke threatening the home side was forced to defend for a lengthy spell. To their credit, however, the Blues held out well, and New Year's Day was clearly theirs to celebrate.

The Pirates departed Goldington Road feeling a little forlorn and bruised, but have their chance to bounce back and redeem themselves in a fourth versus seventh in the table clash against Nottingham at the Mennaye Field on Sunday – Kick Off 2pm.

Bedford Blues
15. James Pritchard (c) 14. David Vincent 13. Brendan Burke 12. Henry Staff
11. Josh Bassett 10. Jake Sharp 9. Darryl Veenendaal
1.Nico Steenkamp 2. Neil Cochrane 3. Dan Seal 4. Mike Howard
5. Alex Rae (Billy Johnson) 6. Gregor Gillanders 7. Sacha Harding 8. Don Barrell

Replacements:
16. Chris Locke, 17. Phil Boulton, 18. Billy Johnson, 19. Paul Tupai
20. Stefan Liebenberg, 21. Jamie Lennard, 22. Ian Vass

Cornish Pirates :
R. Cook, M. Evans, T. Cooper D. Locke, D. Doherty
C. Thomas ), G. Cattle (c) , B. Maidment, P. Burgess, C. Morgan
M. Myerscough (Cowan), M. Smith, A. Paver, D. Ward, P. Andrew

Replacements
C. Rimmer, T. Cowan-Dickie, L. Fairbrother, D. Ewers,
B. Cowan, T. Kessell, G. Pointer

Scorers
Bedford
Tries: 4 - Henry Staff, Josh Bassett, Darryl Veenendaal, Sacha Harding
Conversions: 3 - James Pritchard
Penalties: 1 - James Pritchard
Drop Goal: 1 - Jake Sharp

Cornish Pirates
Tries: 2 - Dave Ward, Chris Morgan
Conversions:
Penalties: 1 - Rob Cook

Match Officials
Ref: Stephen Lee, Yorkshire
AR 1: Thomas Davis, Buckinghamshire
AR2: Stephen Savage, Warwickshire
Ref Coach: Paul Dunnett, Bedfordshire

Attendance: 4,396

World in Union: Round 11 review of the Aviva Premiership

2011-12-28T17:45:00.002Z

ROUND 11

Over 146,000 people stepped through the turnstiles to watch Aviva Premiership Rugby over the Christmas weekend including the Harlequins v Saracens Big Game 4 which sold out to a capacity crowd at Twickenham Stadium, a new world record for a regular season club game.
Christmas Eve at Franklin’s Gardens saw Northampton Saints in control, courtesy of a star performance from George Pisi, that condemned Bath Rugby to their fourth consecutive defeat. Tries came from Phil Dowson, Tom Wood and Jamie Elliott for the Saints, and from Francois Louw for Bath. Final score: Northampton Saints 22, Bath Rugby 13.

On Boxing Day, Nick Macleod won the kicking battle for Sale Sharks as his side beat their northern rivals Newcastle Falcons to return to an Aviva Premiership Rugby semi-final position in fourth place and leave their opponents at the foot of the table. Sale had taken a 16-0 lead after 24 minutes through three Macleod penalties and a converted Tom Brady try, but Newcastle mounted a comeback. After Macleod and Jimmy Gopperth had traded three-pointers, substitute Jeremy Manning went over to reduce the gap to 19-10 at half-time. Gopperth continued to boot the Falcons back into the game and narrowed the gap to three points before England wing Mark Cueto touched down to seal the win for the home side. Final score: Sale Sharks 27, Newcastle Falcons 19.

Over at Kingsholm, Jonny May and Olly Morgan both scored two tries as Gloucester produced a stunning performance to demolish London Wasps. The home side thrilled a packed stadium as Wasps had no answer to the power of the Gloucester pack and the potency of their backs. Gloucester’s tries came from Luke Narraway, Jonny May, Henry Trinder and Olly Morgan, with just one Wasps try in reply courtesy of Elliot Daly. Final score: Gloucester Rugby 39, London Wasps 10.

On Tuesday London Irish finished the year third in the table in an Aviva Premiership Rugby play-off place thanks to a tough win over Exeter Chiefs at the Madejski Stadium. Centres Joe Ansbro and Shontayne Hape grabbed Irish tries, while wing Tom Homer landed 19 points with five penalties and two conversions. Exeter did manage a losing bonus point though, after full-back Luke Arscott ran in a try in the second half while fly-half Ignacio Mieres kicked five penalties and a conversion. Final score: London Irish 29, Exeter Chiefs 22.

Over at Sixways, England star Toby Flood ran the show as Leicester Tigers extended their unbeaten Aviva Premiership Rugby run to five games after brushing Worcester Warriors aside at a sold-out Sixways. The Tigers never looked back once they had built a 17-point lead early in the second quarter following tries by Flood and wing Matt Smith. Fly-half Flood added another 12 points from the boot, while Leicester and England lock Louis Deacon sealed Tigers’ victory when he rumbled over for a 60th-minute try after wing Marcel Garvey’s touchdown had briefly threatened a Worcester revival. Final score: Worcester Warriors 13, Leicester Tigers 32.

A defiant Saracens side ended Harlequins unbeaten start to their Aviva Premiership Rugby season with a ferocious defensive performance at a sold-out Twickenham. Owen Farrell kicked 14 points and David Strettle scored against his old club as Saracens raced into a 19-3 lead after just 24 minutes. Harlequins attempted a comeback and prop Joe Marler, whose pass had earlier been intercepted by Strettle, scored in a dominant second-half performance from the hosts. Saracens did not score another point but defended resolutely to seal the victory in front of a record crowd who were kept entertained for the full 80 minutes. Saracens win closed the gap with the league leaders to five points. Final score: Harlequins 11, Saracens 19.

WSN Basketball. Wasps win against Maroons

2011-12-20T17:51:00.002Z

Thanks to Dave Bushall and all at the Wasps for the match report. We wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Hull Wasps put in a stunning performance on Saturday afternoon to outclass Bradford Maroons. Heading into the game, the Wasps sat just below Bradford in the league in fifth place but have moved up to fourth after the 89-40 victory and are now just two points behind league leaders Stockport Falcons.

For the first time in years, as many as six teams are in the running for the play-offs; Stockport, Rossendale, Middlesbrough, Burnley, Bradford Maroons and now, after four straight wins, Hull Wasps are all in contention for the top-three spots.

The home game on Saturday was a big game for the Hull club, looking to make a big statement to the rest of the league for the first time this season. The game was billed as a definitive game, looking to be a close contest all the way. The opening period of the game certainly looked that way with both sides racking up 17 points each before the first break.

However, the Wasps came out from the rest with a renewed vigour and took the game to Bradford with some fast breaks and excellent defensive work which created a 16-2 run to open up a commanding 16 point lead before half-time.

The home crowd expected a fight back from the visitors after the break but another outstanding period of play from the Wasps restricted Bradford to just 8 points in the quarter, while sinking 23 points themselves.

With the game all but buried, the Wasps didn’t let up. Wasps’ coach Matt Fawcett took the opportunity to rest some senior players while other members of the squad produced another solid performance with a 25-7 run to seal the biggest win of the season at 89-40 for the Wasps.

“It was a huge win for the team today” said Fawcett following the performance.

“We played hard and just played our game how we wanted. After that opening period we knew we had a tough game on our hands but the guys were solid on defence and that opened up opportunities when we broke forward.

“In all honesty, we all looked at this fixture months ago and expected a tight game with only a few points to decide it. But it wasn’t the case in the end and it’s brought us our biggest win of the season so far. This squad has got great potential and we’ve proven it here today. It’s been a solid team performance with everyone working for each other.

“It has set us up nicely for the second half of the season, knowing that we’ve got a lot of hard work ahead of us. We’ll enjoy it over the Christmas break but we mustn’t get too caught up on this as we’ll lose focus. It’s two points at the end of the day and that’s all. We’ve got some big games in January and we’ll be back in the New Year looking to continue the season as we left it.”

Adrian Blatherwick top scored for the Wasps with 18 points. James Rayner came second with 16 while MVP John Brignell scored 15 points. Hull Wasps will next play Oldham Titans away on Saturday 8th January.

Big Puck reports: CHIEFTAINS LOSE TOP SPOT AFTER DEFEAT ON ISLAND

2011-12-20T17:47:00.002Z

Thanks to Pete Lewis and all at the Chieftains for the reports, we wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Chelmsford Chieftains have slipped from top spot after going down 5-4 on the Isle of Wight thanks to a late winner from Dominic Hopkins. The Chieftains had been in the lead for the bulk of the game and were the better side for much of it, but were unable to turn possession into goals. Connor Pollard scored first for the home side, but then a double from in-form Tom Long put the Chieftains 2-1 up at the end of the first period. Then Alex Murray tied the game before Ross Brears put the Essex side back in front. It was neck and neck now and the two sides traded goals as Damon Larter put the Raiders on level terms during the second period. Alan Green put the visitors back ahead and it looked like the 2 points and retention of the league-leader placing would remain in Chelmsford before former EPL forward Arran Strawson tied the game with 7 minutes to go and then a late goal from Hopkins put the Raiders back ahead, much to the disappointment of the visiting fans and players. Alan Green had a chance to tie it up with seconds on the clock, but a bad bounce from the puck meant he never got a clean shot away and the travelling fans were left disappointed.

Onto Sunday and player-coach Gary Clarke knew he had to turn things around and the team did so in style with a 10-3 demolition of the Oxford City Stars. In seemingly normal fashion, the Chelmsford side fell behind to an early goal from the Stars, but then ran in 8 unanswered goals in the first 2 periods. Former Stars forward Alan Green got the ball rolling before Jakub Klima and then Long got his 3rd and 4th of the weekend. James Ayling then put the puck away before Clarke himself netted a brace either side of the first interval. Brears then made it 8 before Josh Oliver scored for the Stars prior to Klima getting his hat-trick with 2 late goals in the third period. Oliver scored again late on but it was never going to be enough to start a fightback and the Chieftains comfortably saw the game out. Klima picked up the man of the match award after a fine performance in the teams final game before the Christmas and new year break.

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Kult & Punk: St Pauli crucial win keeps them in touch with leaders.

2011-12-20T17:41:00.003Z

Thanks to Jonathan who filled in for the boys, while they over did the festivities. One dressed as a Nun the other Roger Rabbit - absolutely no idea. Thanks to Kult and Punk for 2011 already looking forward to 2012, we wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New year. Season greetings to the Players, officials and supporters of FC.St Pauli from all here at Sports Pulse.

FC St. Pauli consigned Eintracht Frankfurt to only their second defeat of the campaign with a deserved 2-0 win that took them to fourth in the table, level with their visitors on 39 points and only three behind league leaders Fortuna Düsseldorf.

The final Bundesliga 2 game before the winter break provided an entertaining spectacle for the fans at the sold-out Millerntor-Stadion, who saw goals from Fabio Morena and Max Kruse lead the hosts to victory over a fellow promotion favourite.

Entertaining start

Both teams began energetically, determined to finish the year on a high note, and it made for a lively encounter, as the play switched from end to end. The visitors marginally edged the opening period and almost took the lead after Karim Matmour's through ball allowed Alex Maier to run in on goal, but the striker's shot from a tight angle was well saved by Philipp Tschauner.

The hosts' reply came only moments later and Fin Bartels should have done better than to skew the ball over the bar after excellent work on the right from Florian Bruns had found him unmarked in the box. Frankfurt had the next opportunity of a frenzied beginning, when Gordon Schildenfeld flicked Pirmin Schwegler's whipped free-kick goalwards, but Tschauner once again reacted well to save.

Pauli go in front

However, it was Pauli, buoyed by their vocal home support, who took the lead just after half an hour. Frankfurt failed to deal with a corner from the right, and Morena was on hand to prod the ball in from close range after visiting keeper Oka Nikolov had parried Sebastian Schachten's shot. Frankfurt pushed for an equaliser, but were unable to find a breakthrough before half time.

The match began in the same fashion after the restart, and Pauli broke following a series of Frankfurt corners, going close through Fabian Boll after a mistake from Anderson in the Frankfurt defence. At the other end, Mo Idrissou tested Tschauner with a snap-shot from the edge of the box, which the unsighted keeper did well to save.

Kruse seals the win

That strike initiated an intense period of pressure from the guests, who created several half chances, which neither Idrissou nor Theofanis Gekas were able to make the most of. With the hosts struggling to get beyond the halfway line, their second goal came totally against the run of play. Frankfurt had committed men forward for another corner when Bartels broke down the right, running the length of the pitch before crossing for Kruse to stroke past the helpless Nikolov.

Frankfurt continued to push for a goal, but they were lacking the necessary creativity to unlock the well-organised home defence. The guests pumped high balls forward, looking to exploit the aerial ability of Idrissou, but the forward was well marshaled by Morena, while shots from distance were rarely accurate enough to trouble Tschauner. Indeed, Pauli looked the most likely to score again and constantly looked threatening on the break, but neither side found the net again.

Jonathan Stockitt

Cycle Premier Racing Team announce the signing of Stephen Adams

2011-12-20T17:35:00.001Z

Cycle Premier Racing Team Press Release

Cycle Premier Racing Team is delighted to announce the signing of 24 year old Stephen Adams from Nottingham who joins the team from Sigma Sports for 2012.

Adams will see early season action with the team in the final round of the National Cyclo Cross Series and in the National Cyclo Cross Championships in January before a well earned rest ready for the road season in March.

Adams said, “I’m really pleased to be on-board with Cycle Premier. I have seen the team grow from strength to strength over the past few years and I'm looking forward to a successful and prosperous 2012 with them.”

Cycle Premier’s Rod Freeman said, “We are delighted to welcome Steve to the team and really excited about the experience he brings to the team on the road, criterium circuits and off road. I’m looking forward to seeing Steve and Michael (Berling) in action together in April at Dengie Marsh, Tour Doon Hame and Cicle Classic.”

The team has so far announced 11 of its 13 man squad for 2012. They are:

Stephen Adams (24)
Michael Berling (29)
Tom Black (21)
Declan Byrne (18)
Jamie Caldwell (21)
Russell Falder (21)
Richard Hepworth (24)
Jake Martin (19)
George Moore (18)
Jon Mozley (24)
Chris Pritchard (28)

Sol y Futbol: Lanzarote extend their unbeaten run to eight games

2011-12-20T17:27:00.004Z

Lanzarote earn a disappointing draw, but continue their unbeaten run. We wish the players and officials of UD Lanzarote a Merry Christmas and happy new year. A massive thank you to Ian for supplying the reports for 2011 and look forward to their continuation in 2012. SportTrades would like wish Ian, Anna, Jessica and Oscar a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

C.D. CORRALEJO 0 LANZAROTE 0

The second half of the season began with a scoreless draw as did the first. It may be an away point and Lanzarote have extended their unbeaten run to eight games but the Rojillos will be disappointed returning from Fuerteventura with just a point.

The Majoreros (Fuerteventurians) began the game the better of the two sides but rarely troubled the League´s best goalkeeper Santi Lampón. Midfielder Isaac had the best chance of the half in the 9th minute but failed to hit the target for the hosts. Lanzarote best opportunity was a free kick from Gustavo García but the ex Las Palmas player saw his strike fall into the arms of the Corralejo keeper.
Before the half was up Rojillos manager Fabían Rivero was forced into making a double substitution. Echedey and Aythami limped off and were replaced by the experienced Jotha and defender Jesús but the game remained goalless going into the break.

If the fans thought the first half lacked entertainment then they were not going to be impressed with an even poorer second period. The majority of the match was played in midfield and it wasn’t until the final few minutes that either side threatened.

In the 87th minute Toñito fed Alex Yunes, his strike was well saved by the Fuerteventura keeper then his follow up shot was deflected away by a defender. In the final minute a header for striker Dino went narrowly wide for the home side but this was a day when neither side deserved to score.

The Rojillos remain in ninth spot but have drifted to three points off the play off places as we head into the National Spanish football break. The chase for a playoff position resumes with a tasty home match on the 8th January against fifth placed side Las Palmas B.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all.
Ian, Anna, Jessica and Oscar.

Gwrys Yn Kernow: Pirates progress to next round

2011-12-18T19:48:00.001Z

Thanks to Cornish Pirates & Woll for the match report and also Simon Bryant for the pictures

Cornish Pirates 30-3 Cross Keys

British & Irish Cup Round 4

At The Mennaye Field Penzance

Woll's Match Report

Thirty years ago and almost within sight of The Mennaye, the real meaning of bravery was redefined by the actions of the crew of the Solomon Browne. Tragically, it was the ultimate outcome that provided the reason for the very emotional sixty seconds prior to today’s kick off; an annual show of respect, impeccably observed, and a humbling reminder of what really constitutes perspective.

Not a bad thing given the past few days and concerns regarding future Pirates plans; but at least this particular cup tie could be played in the knowledge that they are clearly progressing, if a little behind original timescales. Something that post match, Chris Stirling confirmed and re-iterated his intention to remain part of, hopefully dispelling any remaining question marks.

Just as well then, that attention could focus back on to the field of play so quickly even if this clash was in effect a ‘dead rubber’; both sides having already booked their quarter final berths. Something that may have contributed to a game that never really hit the heights one would have hoped for.

Not that Matt Evans would be too bothered; as the winger helped himself to a couple of tries to put any hopes a much changed Cross Keys side may have had of causing an upset, well and truly to bed. Something that allegedly the visitors eventually managed during their overnight stay, the evening prior.

A scrappy contest then, took a good fifteen minutes to ignite, as Thomas coming in at full back, saw a couple of early pots miss their target; denying the Pirates some reward for their early pressure.

But pressure there was, and the Keys were already creaking before Hodge incurred a ten minute spell on the sidelines for his troubles, as his colleagues just couldn’t please Mr. Harding at all. So much so, that the official finally decided to trot under posts to disturb the scorers for the first time on the quarter hour. Ceiron this time doing the honours.

As if on cue, this sparked the Welshmen on against his countrymen. Five minutes later, he put Evans through on the left for his first score in the Old Western National Corner, in an identical manner to one in the first minute that didn’t end quite so successfully. Keys full back, Andrews’ timely intervention, preventing the perfect start for the Pirates on that occasion.

At this point a flurry of points seemed likely, as the gulf between the teams on the day threatened to be reflected in a large score line. As it materialised, only two further Thomas penalties came forth and so a 20 point gap at the break had to suffice.

Après tea and the first drama revolved around Chris Morgan and a gash to his head, that gave his otherwise boyish features, a menacing red war paint shade. The flow of the red stuff happily ceased after liberal use of the magic towel, but the image no doubt remained with all and sundry; perhaps raising a few blood pressures in the process. A spat between the impressive Doherty and his opposite number, Owens, seemingly occurring soon after.

This earned the pair a lengthy lecture from Mr. Harding, but no further punishment. The clips on the ears from fellow players, apparently being sufficient from afar.
Cattle meanwhile was thrown on to spare James any further pain, and for a few minutes it appeared that the Pirates may well find that extra gear. Ward in true Wardy style roused the crowd with his usual ball stealing exploits and bullocking runs as well. But it was the visitors who scored next as they nailed their only points of the afternoon with less than half hour remaining, as Mills landed a 30m penalty.

Minutes later, a 45m attempt by Andrews went well wide and joined his earlier attempt at bringing the Pirates TV gantry down, as moments best forgotten.
In fact, this was about as good as it got for the Welsh Premiership side as they began to feel the force of the Pirates pack turn up the heat once more.
Several catch and drives threatened, until Thomas’s boot finally ended what had been a stale period otherwise, with his third penalty of the afternoon.

Keys were creaking and once again upsetting Mr. Harding. Nash finally bit the bullet and took one for the team as their tempers frayed. A little aggrieved that the official hadn’t done similar to Suniula for a high challenge not long before. Regardless the talcum powder flurried and some animation in front of the main stand almost distracted sufficiently for many to miss Evans’ second dot down, as ‘talks’ continued on the touchline.

Any chance of an escalation in hostilities were quashed however, as Cowan’s final charge ended in a knock on, and Mr. Harding calling time; no doubt with half an eye on getting to the bar in time for drinks with the retiring Nigel Higginson.
If calculations are correct, then Nottingham will have to visit the Mennaye twice in the New Year come the next round of the British & Irish Cup. Interesting no?

Cornish Pirates

15 C. Thomas 14 D. Daniel (21 R. McAtee 53mins) 12 G. Pointer (22 S. Hill 75mins) 13 A. Suniula 11 M. Evans 10 M. Dorrian 9 J. Doherty (20 G. Cattle 48mins) 8 B. Maidment 7 P. Burgess 6 C. Morgan (capt) (18 B. Cowan 71mins) 5 M. Myerscough (19 K. Marriott 53mins) 4 M. Smith 3 R. Brits (1 R. Storer 70mins) 2 D. Ward 1 R. Storer(16 A. Paver 53mins)
Replacements: un-used 17 R. Elloway

Tries: Penalty, Evans 2
Cons: Thomas 3
Pens: Thomas 3

Cross Keys

15 L. Andrews 14 K. Baller (20 J. Robinson 59mins) 13 L. Williams 12 N. Williams 11 M. Johnstone 10 S. Mills 9 O. Jones (c) 8 R. Williams (16 R. Nash HT) 7 C. Trayhern 6 M. Popham 5 L. Rawlins 4 D. Hodge 3 M. Jones (18 C. Gould 55mins) 2 J. Sollis 1 I. George
Replacements: un-used 17 G. Price, 19 T. Lampard, 21 P. Williams, 22 R. Dyer

Pen: Mill

Yellows: Hodge, Nash

Match Officials
Referee: Simon Harding (RFU)
Assistants: Tom Foley & Nigel Higginson
Referee Coach : Jerry Wallis
Man of the Match: Matt Evans

Cycle Premier Racing Team announce the signing of Michael Berling

2011-12-16T12:30:00.003Z

Cycle Premier Racing Team is delighted to announce the signing of 29 year old Michael Berling from Arhus in Denmark for the 2012 UK season.

Berling is best known in the UK as having won one of the few UCI events in this country, the Leicestershire Cicle Classic and finishing 2nd in 2009 and 4th in 2008 but in Denmark he is also the Criterium Champion, Danish Cup Champion (a long running Danish Federation race series made up of 5 major events) and has finished in the top 10 of the National Road Championships on more than one occasion. As well as a truly talented rider on the road Berling also holds national medals on the track in Madision, Points, Omnium and Team Pursuit events.

Not only is Beling keen to return to Cicle Classic in 2012 but he has also sighted the British Premier Calendar as a race series he is looking forward to riding as well as sampling the British criterium scene during the summer.

The British Premier Calendar starts this year with a new race that uses off road sections like Cicle Classic as part of the course and Berling is looking forward to riding this with the team before heading north of the border to Tour Doon Hame, in Scotland and then rounding off April with Cicle Classic in the teams home county of Leicestershire.

Berling said, “I was keen to try the British race scene this year and with Kovert Racing bikes being a new sponsor to Cycle Premier this seemed a good time to join them and help promote their products both in the UK and in Scandinavia.”

Cycle Premier’s Rod Freeman said, “We are delighted to welcome Michael to the team and really excited about the strength he adds to the squad. There will be two or three more foreign riders to announce over the next few weeks and 2012 is starting to shape up well.”

The appointment of Berling has also led to tyre sponsor Vittoria bringing their Pave CG tubulars and tyres into the team for specific races like Dengie Marsh, Tour Doon Hame and Cicle Classic

The team has so far announced 10 of its 13 man squad for 2012. They are:

Michael Berling (29)

Tom Black (21)

Declan Byrne (18)

Jamie Caldwell (21)

Russell Falder (21)

Richard Hepworth (24)

Jake Martin (19)

George Moore (18)

Jon Mozley (24)

Chris Pritchard (28)

We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

2011-12-14T20:04:00.004Z

Sports Pulse would like to wish all our contributors and followers a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. We would like to also send season greetings to all the clients, suppliers and partners of SportTrades.

Spotlight on the CSL, with Anelka bound for the Orient

2011-12-14T11:26:00.004Z

With Anelka bound for the Orient – no, not Barry Hearn – the spotlight has falling onto the Chinese Super League.

The Wanda Plaza Chinese Super League is relatively new, it was formed in 2004. It consisted of 12 teams with no relegation for the first two seasons while an expansion programme took place. The current season the league will consist of 16 clubs. The current CSL Champions for 2011 are Guangzhou Evergrande, with Shandong Luneng winning the most titles with 3 crowns. The top scorer for 2011 season was the Brazilian, Muriqui, who netted 16 times for the champions Guangzhou Evergrande.

The largest stadium is the Workers Stadium; it holds 62,000 and is the home of Beijing Guon. Anelka’s new home is Hongkou Stadium, with a capacity of 33,000. Shanghai Shenhua, Anelka's new team, is yet to lift the CSL. They have been runners-up three times though, will their fortune change – is it all in the cookies.

The Wanda Plaza CSL runs from February/March to October/November. The league, as already mentioned, consists of 16 teams, with promotion and relegation between the CSL and JIA League (Chinese First Division). The bottom two teams in the CSL are relegated to the JIA league, and therefore the top two teams in the JIA are promoted to the Wanda Plaza CSL. Each team plays each other home and away, resulting in a 30 game season. The top 3 in the CSL and the Chinese Super Cup winners qualify for the AFC Champions League, equivalent of our Champions League. Now there’s a thought F.A, 3 Premier league places, with the 3rd place in qualifying rounds joined by the winners of the F.A.Cup for the Champions League – just a thought.

Players from England who have played in the CSL, Marlon Harewood, Paul Gascoigne and Howard Wilkinson has managed there. The CSL is full of players from Europe and South America, they also have great development projects to encourage and train nationals into all aspects of the professional sport. One club had a link to England, the Chengdu Blades who have a link with Sheffield United; unfortunately the Blades were relegated this season.

Will Sports:Pulse be following a team in 2012?. We certainly are, we will notify you of the feature name in good time, at present we are seeking a source to provide match reports in English for us. We have chosen Qingdao Jonoon Football Club, the Sea Bulls as our team. The team is based in Qingdao, Shandong and play at the smallest stadium in the CSL, Qingdao Tiantai Stadium, which holds just over 20,000.

The club was formed in 1990, with the catchy name of Shandong Economic and Trade Commission Football Club

In 2011 they had a number of Europeans and Brazilians playing for them, including Eber. They finnished 6th in the 2011 season.

Please contact us at info@sporttrades.co.uk if you are interested in providing match reports and news updates about the club.

Sol y Futbol: Lanzarote draw at league leaders

2011-12-12T16:00:00.003Z

Ian Lane reports as Lanzarote draw with league leaders. One more game before the Christmas break. Remember if you're lucky enough to be on the island, go to the Teguise market on Sunday. Find Ian and the team on the UD Lanzarote stalls and get those last minute Christmas pressies.

CF ESTRELLA 1 LANZAROTE 1

The Rojillos end the season’s first round of games against the league leaders with an excellent draw with only 10 men and are now just two points from a playoff position.

The league leaders began the day on the back of five consecutive wins and six points clear at the top of the Tercera Division (fourth tier). The Rojillos were also in good form unbeaten in their last six outings.

Lanzarote got off to a terrific start. The ever impressive Ángel Gil crossed the ball in from the left and the ball struck defender Omar on the hand, the ref did not hesitate pointing to the spot and Rosmen finished the job giving Lanzarote a 0-1 advantage.

In the matter of four minutes Lanzarote went from joy to despair. Defender Adrián Martín was adjudged to have pulled the shirt of striker Rául and the ref again did not hesitate awarding a penalty.

To make matters worse Adrián was given a red card and the Rojillos were forced to play over 80 minutes with just 10 men. To add to the controversy keeper Santi Lampón saved the spot kick but the linesman flagged as players had entered the box so the ref ordered that the penalty had to be retaken. Striker Eneko made no mistake on his second attempt as the score was levelled at one apiece.

Even with a player less the Rojillos were looking good and creating the better opportunities. In the 22nd minute Vladi´s free kick found Rosmen who neatly fed Ángel Gil but unfortunately the defenders strike hit the post and was cleared.

The game was being played at a fast and furious pace as both sides were trying to dominate possession but the score remained at 1-1 at the break.

The second period wasn’t as dramatic as the first with the home side lacking ambition against a 10 man Lanzarote side. Ten minutes from time and a mistake by Rojillos defender Sixto let in striker Borja. Goalkeeper Santi Lampón may be knocking on with his 39 years but was brilliant with his reflexes saving from Estrella front man.

A couple of minutes later the on field playing staff was levelled as Borja also received his marching orders for a dangerous tackle on defender David Dorta.

Both sides fought for the three points in the closing minutes with Echedey and Ángel Gil coming closest but the game ended fairly in stalemate.

The next and last game before the Spanish Christmas break is on the 18th December against C.D. Corralejo of Fuerteventura.

GOALS
0-1 min 4 Rosmen (penalty)
1-1 min 10 Eneko (penalty)

Big Puck reports: TOWIC in the Essex Cup

2011-12-12T15:55:00.002Z

Thanks to Pete and all at the Chieftains for this news update.

THE ONLY WAY IS CHELMSFORD IN THE ESSEX CUP FIRST LEG

9th December 2011

The Only Way is Chelmsford after Thursday evening's resounding defeat of Romford Raiders in the first leg of the Essex Cup at the Riverside ice rink. A 5-2 demolition job was carried out on a depleted Raiders team who started off brightly but then faded as the legs began to tire and the extra bodies on the Chieftains bench began to tell.

Former Chieftains forward Matt Turner scored after just 30 seconds of the game with a nice finish past Ben Clements. Danny Wright then blasted home later in the first period and the game was nicely poised at 1-1 going into the first break. Things began to heat up in the second period and some indiscipline from the Raiders culminated in a fight between Chieftains captain Dwayne "Dog" Newman and Shaun Wallis of the Raiders, with the Romford scrapper getting the upper hand in the bout. A bizarre incident then took place as JJ McGrath of the Raiders side then fired the puck at Clements while the two officials were sorting out the penalties for the fight and McGrath ended up losing the plot and was given his marching orders to leave the Raiders even shorter benched. A brace from the unassuming Alan Green took the Chelmsford side to a 3-1 lead heading into the final session.

Jakub Klima and Danny Hammond then netted a goal a piece in the third period as Chelmsford went 5-1 ahead, but then the gloves came off again this time with Michael Ranby and Tom Davis squaring off on the ice. Ranby took a decisive win in the fight, much to the delight of the impressive midweek crowd of Chelmsford fans. Romford player coach Danny Marshall took some of the gloss off the win with a late goal to bring it back to 5-2, but the Chieftains are well in the driving seat going into the second leg in Romford in the new year.

Alex Staples picked up another man of the match award after a fine display in defence for the Chieftains, while forward Tom Long took home the Karen Bloomfield Memorial Award for Player of the Month for November.

Gwrys Yn Kernow: Pirates in a close game at Headingley

2011-12-12T15:46:00.004Z

Thanks to Ben Woolatt for the match report and Brian Tempest for the pictures. More details regarding the Pirates, can be found at www.cornish-pirates.com

Leeds Carnegie 14 Cornish Pirates 13

RFU Championship Round 14

Headingly Carnegie Stadium

Sunday 11 December 2011

Match Report From Ben Woollatt

On a cold mid-December afternoon in Yorkshire, Leeds Carnegie hosted the Cornish Pirates at their Headingley stadium keen to get revenge for having been beaten 52-10 at the Mennaye Field in September.

With the stage set for a close contest, Leeds started proceedings playing towards the West stand, but it was the Pirates who would show encouraging early dominance at scrummage time.

The first scoring opportunity also came from the visitors when Miles Dorrian made a break through the Leeds defence. His chip and chase was almost gathered by wing Rhodri McAtee but the ball bounced dead before anyone could ground it.

Following a messy line-out the home side was able to surge forward, nearly creating a try for winger Peter Lucock who broke through a couple of tackles. A penalty was signalled to Leeds, and seeing no other opportunities their young fly-half, Joe Ford, slotted a neat seventh minute drop goal to give his side a 3-0 lead.

Home lock Sean Hohneck claimed the restart but Ford went from hero to villain as his clearance kick went straight out on the full. This gave the Cornishmen a chance to regroup and they worked their way to within five metres of the whitewash.
The phases were good and momentum was starting to build with a series of pick and go drives leading ever closer to the try line. These drives were reminiscent of the Cup game in February 2007 and in exactly the same area of the pitch, but the result was different this time. A knock on, and then some naughtiness by the front row denying the Pirates a repeat of that particular success.

Leeds suffered a wobble at the resulting line-out and the Pirates were again able to break into the '22' after a strong run by flanker Kyle Marriott.
With the phases built once more the hosts were forced to defend and to their credit made some huge tackles to repel ball carriers. The referee, however, awarded a penalty to the Pirates and full-back Rob Cook made no mistake to level the scores at 3-all.

The key moment of the half came just after the 20 minute mark, as another Pirates attack led to wing David Doherty chasing a kick through. Unfortunately for Leeds, Michael Stephenson tackled Doherty before he had the ball, earning the experienced winger a trip to the sin-bin and the Cornish side a penalty try which was converted by Cook.

Joyous one moment, the Pirates then committed the ultimate sin in rugby by conceding a penalty straight after scoring. Full-back Tommy Bell made no mistake to reduce the gap to four points with 15 minutes to go until half time.

Despite the numbers advantage, things didn’t get any better for the Cornish side, as finding themselves in their own 22 and trying to play their way out of trouble they were caught holding on. Handed the chance with a penalty to close the gap to 9-10, Bell happily and successfully obliged.

Some order was restored, however, when with only five minutes of the half remaining the Leeds pack found reverse gear to gift Cook his second penalty and give the Pirates a 13-9 half-time lead.

After the break and with the game so close, it was felt that the next score would be crucial, and with a direct approach the hosts started to make ground against the previously unbreakable Cornish wall. Indeed, forcing their way into the '22' they were awarded a penalty as a Pirate defender crept offside, but Bell's kick drifted wide to provide a sigh of relief to travelling supporters.
This setback did little to stem the home side’s spirit, as agai
n they smashed their way forward, with such as Stephenson, replacement Scott Barrow and Lucock making ground against the tacklers. Luckily for the Pirates, Carnegie's centre Iain Thornley was penalised for not releasing and the lines could be cleared.
A try looked 'on' as Leeds responded to apply pressure once more, only for the chance to go begging when the ball spilled forward.

Controversy was next around the corner, when Leeds were awarded a penalty 35 metres out from the Pirates line, right in front of the posts. The kick went up, the flags went up............but it was not awarded. Referee Mr. Dean Richards had over-ruled his assistants as he was sure that the ball had sailed outside of the posts. This was met with great displeasure from the home support and was perhaps the catalyst for the final quarter of the game.

The Pirates, seemingly buoyed by the various misfortunes of Leeds, went on the attack in an attempt to put the game beyond doubt. Their edge at scrum time continued as they were given a penalty after another Leeds infringement, but the hosts were let off the hook when Cook's lengthy effort fell just short.
Into the final 15 minutes saw Leeds dominate generally, but with the Pirates defence also looking sound as they restricted their opponents solely to small lateral gains.
A few turnovers won at the breakdown by skipper Chris Morgan and Marriott gave hope that the Pirates could hold on, but Leeds then built a telling momentum which culminated in Leeds taking advantage of a Pirates knock-on for Stephenson to make amends for his sin binning by wriggling over in the corner. Bell missed the conversion but clock clicking to a conclusion Leeds were 14-13 ahead.

The Pirates response was positive and from phase after phase they gained some ground, until Dorrian finally pulled the trigger from 45 metres out with a dropped goal attempt. Although his effort missed there was still time, but sadly not enough, and when had Ford the chance to belt the ball into touch the home celebrations began.
All credit to Leeds who have clearly regrouped since their pasting at Penzance in September. Their immense physicality appeared the most visible difference, led by Hohneck, who was a nuisance throughout.

For the Pirates, who are now fifth in the table, a losing bonus point was a consolation, as they now look forward to Sunday's British & Irish Cup encounter at home to Cross Keys, kick off 2pm.

Scorers:

Leeds

Tries: Stephenson
Penalties: Bell 2
Drop-goals: Ford

Cornish Pirates :

Tries: Penalty
Penalties: Cook 2
Conversions:Cook

Leeds Carnegie
15 T. Bell 14 M. Stephenson 13 I. Thornley 12 J. Barker (S. Barrow 40)
11 P. Lucock 10 J. Ford 9 C. Hampson (D. White 70)
1 M. MacDonald 2 A. Titterrell (capt, S. Freer 71) 3 K. Palma-Newport
4 D. Hemingway (R. Beck 71) 5 S. Hohneck 6. R. Burrows
7 J. Rowan 8 D. Paul (C. Walker 71).

Replacements (not used): C. Zeiss ,M. Mustafa.

Cornish Pirates :

15 R. Cook 14 R. McAtee (G. Pointer 52) 13 D. Locke 12 S. Hill 11 D. Doherty
10 M. Dorrian 9 T. Kessell (J. Doherty 78)
8 B. Maidment (P. Burgess 66) 7 C. Morgan (capt) 6 K. Marriott 5
I. Nimmo 4 L. McGlone (M. Smith 80) 3 A. Paver (R. Brits 78)
2 R. Elloway (D. Ward 52) 1 R. Storer (P. Andrew 58)

Referee: Dean Richards

Attendance: 2568

Kult & Punk: St Pauli in unexpected defeat shock

2011-12-11T21:59:00.002Z

St Pauli fall to an unexpected defeat. Some things remain predictable, the boys went straight back on the Elf & Goblin brew and threw darts at Mercozy pictures, while wearing Dave masks. All very strange, but next week Jedward and Louis Walsh.

FC Ingolstadt 04 1-0 FC St. Pauli

After more than a month propping up the league table, FC Ingolstadt finally moved up in the standings after a surprising win over promotion candidates St. Pauli, giving Tomas Oral a first taste of victory as head coach.

The home side began somewhat defensively, wary of their visitors' attacking prowess. The match was hard fought in the early stages, with both struggling to make any headway in an over-crowded midfield. While the hosts' defended well, they lacked cut and thrust in attack, and with regular strikers Moritz Hartmann and Edson Buddle both missing, Pauli appeared to be in little danger as the sides went in goalless at the break.

Akaichi snatches win

The guests began determined to establish themselves as the dominant force in the game and they succeeded in putting together more threatening attacks, though without really troubling Ramazan Özcan in the Ingolstadt goal. The match appeared to be heading for a stalemate, but the hosts scored with one last throw of the dice, Ahmed Akaichi eventually prodding the ball over the line after it had ricocheted around the box following a corner.

The hosts move up to 16th place on 13 points, while Pauli missed the chance to go second in the table and stay in fourth, now six points behind leaders Düsseldorf.

Nick Morgan: update on his progress.

2011-12-09T21:35:00.003Z

As you know a good friend of SportTrades, the Billericay Town FC ‘keeper Nick Morgan, was attacked and left paralysed outside the Sugar Hut in Brentwood a number of weeks ago. A fund raising night has took place last weekend at O’Gradys Pub, Seven Kings, Ilford, where a long list of items were donated for auction. The auction is part of a campaign to raise funds towards equipment and treatment, to aid Nick’s recovery. We will keep you in touch with Nicks progress, these posts are supplied by his brother Ben Morgan and taking in full from his blog www.nickmorganfund.com. Please visit the blog for details of forthcoming events, to keep updated with Nicks progress or to donate.

Nick Morgan Fund

Hi all,

I’m gonna start with the good news and end with the brilliant news. Try not to cheat and skip to the end!

The good news is that the Benefit Night on Friday was an amazing success. We raised a substantial amount of money for Nick and the support shown was astounding! We had people queuing to get in and the place was packed to the rafters and rocking all night. The auction raised some unbelievable numbers with the kind of generosity that staggers belief.

The amount of auction items and raffle prizes that were donated is just ridiculous. What a wonderful group of people. Nick is one lucky fella to have such a strong support network of friends and family.

As Nick mentioned in his speech, a huge thank you to Seamus O’Grady and his staff for putting on the night at such short notice. Plus, another huge thank you to everyone that contributed before, during and after.

We have some more fundraising plans in the pipeline. Seamus is teaming up with Ford’s to get Nick a brand new car, which we will be selling raffle tickets for. The winning ticket will be drawn in O’Grady’s on Paddy’s Day on Saturday 17th March. We’ll drive the car around on a trailer to various venue’s selling tickets all the way. We’re hoping this will raise another big lump sum for Nick.
Now the bit you’ve been waiting for….

Nick’s new chair arrived from Sweden yesterday and its a big old bit of kit. He say’s it’s so much more comfortable and Nick was able to sit in it for 3 hours straight off the bat.

When he got back into his bed at 6pm, we did a bit of physio with him. We went through the regular routine of manoeuvring his arms and legs, while doing some strength exercises to keep his limbs from seizing up. We felt good progress there in the strength he was able to exert.

Then came the brilliant bit. We picked up his hands to manipulate his wrists and fingers to stop them going stiff. All of a sudden his index finger twitched. Then again, this time stronger. Then his thumb went, with even more of a movement. Then all four fingers went together! Mum was like a woman possessed, she was out of the room like a shot bringing the nurses, kitchen staff and cleaners in to see what Nick was now doing. Anyone that was in the vicinity was dragged in ha ha. An amazing moment for everyone!

Well done Nick – we are all so proud of you!! Keep up the good work, stay strong and your sheer determination will see you through!

Ben

WSN Basketball: Wasps thrid away win in a row.

2011-12-06T13:02:00.003Z

Thanks to Dave Bushall and all the guys at Hull Wasps for match report and pictures. Get along and support the Wasps this weekend, visit their shop - get some first class Christmas presents.

Mold Magic 50 Hull Wasps 70

Hull Wasps took their third straight win away from Wales on Sunday afternoon with a convincing 70-50 victory over Mold Magic. A flying start from the Wasps all but ensured victory after a first quarter performance which saw them take in a 23-12 lead at the break.

Hull’s player-coach Matt Fawcett introduced some fresh blood into the team at the start of second, giving a first appearance to 18-year old Miles Baldwin. The initial changeover caused a loss of momentum but still managed to extend their overall lead in the game to take a 35-20 lead in at the half-time interval.

A reintroduction of the some of the more experienced players at the start of the third brought another strong period for the Wasps who extended their lead even further to 53-30 before closing out the game at 70-50.

John Brignell finished as the Wasps top scorer once again with 15 points. Brignell has been the Wasps top scorer in every game he’s featured in so far this season.

Matt Brutnell came second with 14 points and Andy Marr came third with 7.

Sol y Futbol: Lanzarote win last home game of 2011

2011-12-06T12:54:00.003Z

Ian Lane reports from Arrecife, as Lanzarote end their programme of home games for 2011, with a win.

LANZAROTE 1 C.D. LAGUNA 0

Lanzarote´s last home game of the year ended in triumph courtesy of an eighth minute header from winger Toñito. Over the last six games the Rojillos have been dominant winning four and two draws, this run of good form has pushed the Conejeros (locals) up to seventh spot and within touching distance of the play offs.

The Rojillos began the match with a better tempo than their Tenerife opposition. Only two minutes had past when defender Ángel Gil crossed from the left to find Rosmen. The Lanzarote captain who has been struggling to find his goal scoring form of last season rushed his shot and fired into the side netting.

Lanzarote piled on the pressure with a succession of corners and free kicks but the all important goal was not to come from a dead ball situation. After some neat passing Alex Yunes crossed the ball from the left to the far post, winger Toñito timed his run to perfection and headed home from six yards giving the keeper no chance and made the score 1-0 to his side.

The temperamental winger looked in sparkling form after returning to the starting eleven following his absence through internal misconduct. Unfortunately a few minutes later Toñito tweaked his groin with a defensive clearance and had no alternative but to be subbed.

The visitors realised that they could be in with a tough afternoon after conceding an early goal so sat back and defended as Lanzarote were looking to extend their lead. Rosmen and Alex Yunes came close but the lack of strikers in the squad was evident as the Rojillos ended the half with a minimal advantage.

Lanzarote began the second half in similar fashion as they did in the first period by dominating possession desperate to find the goal that would give them some breathing space. In the 56th minute a run to the by-line and a chip to the far post by Rosmen found the head of Alex Yunes but his header narrowly flew over the bar.

Laguna defended well but offered very little in attack. Still with the game at only 1-0 nothing was guaranteed for the Rojillos. In the final few minutes the visitors began pressing as the Rojillos were sensibly holding on with what they had got. The visitors even sent their goalkeeper up for a corner which led to a bit of panic in the Rojillo defence but in truth Lanzarote´s goalkeeper Santi Lampón was rarely threatened over the 90 minutes as his team successfully claimed all three points and move within a win of the play offs.

The Rojillos final two games of the year are both away, first up is this Tuesday against Gran Canarian side and runaway leaders of the division C.F. Estrella followed by a derby match against C.D. Corralejo of Fuerteventura on the 18th Dec.

Goals
1-0 min 8 Toñito

World in Union: Review of Round 10, Aviva Premiership

2011-12-06T12:42:00.003Z

World in Union brought to you by our friends at Aviva. Aviva for a wide range of ultra competative insurance rates direct, not matched on price comparison sites. Aviva, not making a drama out of a crisis (those were the days).

Round 10

Aviva Premiership Rugby Round 10 witnessed some compelling rugby with a one-point win for Newcastle Falcons at home to Gloucester as well as a highly committed performance from the two East Midlands sides in what became a 14-man encounter for nearly 60 minutes, with Leicester Tigers just coming out on top. Elsewhere Saracens and Exeter both posted wins in an effort to keep up with Harlequins who recorded their 10th straight win in the league.

The weekend was also dedicated to the support of responsible drinking. For some key facts about alcohol and drinking responsibly please visit www.drinkaware.co.uk.
On Friday night Newcastle Falcons picked up their second Aviva Premiership Rugby win of the season as they clung on for a narrow victory over visitors Gloucester Rugby at Kingston Park. Two first-half Gloucester tries from Olly Morgan and James Simpson-Daniel were answered by scores from Jordi Pasqualin and James Fitzpatrick, but it was the visitors who led 20-17 at the interval. Scott Lawson scored for Gloucester in the second half but the boot of Newcastle’s Jimmy Gopperth steadied the ship. Final score: Newcastle Falcons 26, Gloucester Rugby 25.

On Saturday Sale Sharks ensured they catapulted two places up to fifth in the Aviva Premiership Rugby table with a valuable away win over Bath Rugby who slipped another place down to tenth. Sale’s match-winner was fly-half Nick Macleod who shrugged off some early misses with the boot before kicking three penalties and converting Mark Cueto’s 54th-minute try. Bath’s points came from a Michael Claassens try, converted by Olly Barkley, who added two penalties. Final score: Bath Rugby 13, Sale Sharks 16.

At Welford Road, Leicester Tigers snatched a dramatic bonus-point win over Northampton Saints in a pulsating East Midlands showdown. The match was contested by two teams of 14 for over an hour after Chris Ashton’s clash with Alesana Tuilagi resulted in red cards for the Tigers’ winger and Northampton flanker Tom Wood. Leicester tries came from Matt Smith, Steve Mafi , Ben Youngs and Horacio Agulla, with Northampton replying with tries from Chris Ashton, Tom May and Phil Dowson. The win for Leicester means a climb from tenth to seventh in the table and a drop from fourth to sixth for the Saints. Final score: Leicester Tigers 30, Northampton Saints 25.
Over at Sandy Park on Saturday, Exeter Chiefs climbed to third in the Aviva Premiership Rugby table as they ended a run of two league home defeats. Argentina international fly-half Ignacio Mieres slotted all of his five kicks at goal before being replaced. Worcester Warriors replied through two Joe Carlisle penalties before his replacement Andy Goode earned them a third losing bonus point of the season, keeping them six points clear of Newcastle Falcons. Final score: Exeter Chiefs 15, Worcester Warriors 9.

On Sunday Owen Farrell kept Aviva Premiership Rugby champions Saracens on the coat-tails of leaders Harlequins by kicking all his side’s points in a narrow victory over local rivals London Irish at Vicarage Road. Irish took the lead through a Tom Homer kick but Farrell struck three times before the break to hand Sarries the advantage. Daniel Bowden’s penalty for Irish reduced the deficit before two more Farrell kicks made it 15-6. David Paice secured the Exiles a losing bonus point with the only try of the match. Final score: Saracens 15, London Irish 11.

Over at Adams Park, visiting full-back Mike Brown scored the pick of the tries as Harlequins survived a late fightback by Wasps to secure their 10th successive Aviva Premiership Rugby victory. Brown crossed 10 minutes after the break in between centre Matt Hopper’s seventh-minute touchdown and flanker Luke Wallace’s score as the leaders roared into a 22-6 lead with 57 minutes played. But Hopper’s departure for the sin-bin saw Hugo Southwell claim a first try for the home side and when England winger Tom Varndell followed suit nine minutes from time, the game was back in the balance. Wasps’ Nick Robinson twice hit a post as he failed to add to his six points, while opposite number Nick Evans’ single penalty and two conversions helped to see the visitors home for their 14th consecutive win in all competitions. Final score: London Wasps 16, Harlequins 22.

March to the Arch 3: Hatters fall at final hurdle before Round 3

2011-12-05T12:02:00.002Z

March to the Arch 3 heads toward the 3rd Round. We will have an updated merit table in our preview to the next game. Unfortunately we loss Luton at the final hurdle before the ‘big teams’ enter the competition. Hats off to the guys for a great effort, enjoyed following you.

Our great hopes going into the next round is the mighty Cheltenham Town. They have a fantastic draw away at Spurs in Round 3 of the F.A.Cup.

Luton 2 - 4 Cheltenham

Cheltenham avoided an FA Cup shock as they gained a hard-fought win at Luton.

Darryl Duffy put the Robins ahead when he raced on to Scott Brown's goal-kick but Aaron O'Connor equalised when he converted from Robbie Willmott's cross.

Marlon Pack's solo effort made it 2-1 and O'Connor levelled with a powerful finish before Luke Summerfield's first-time shot restored the visitors' lead.

Duffy was sent off for foul language but Cheltenham scored again as Russell Penn finished off a counter-attack.

Gwrys Yn Kernow: Pirtaes brush aside Scottish.

2011-12-05T11:42:00.003Z

Thank you all at Cornish Pirates for the match report and picture. www.cornish-pirates.com

Cornish Pirates 42 London Scottish 10

RFU Championship Round 13
Mennaye Field

Sunday 4th Deceember 2011

Woll's Match Report

A week in the home port’s dry dock, seemed to be just what was needed after a month voyaging to foreign climes had increasingly taken its toll.

The damage done below the waterline in the previous one hundred minutes of Championship rugby had been more than superficial for sure; but the ‘smiles’ as High Performance Manager, Chris Stirling, alluded to post match; had returned.

And why not (?), as the expected stubbornness London Scottish were expected to bring to the party, was conspicuous by its absence for most of the contest.

On a cool and mainly dank December afternoon at the Mennaye then, it was the Pirates who took charge from the start; and, despite an early Mugford penalty that gave the visitors a 2 nd minute lead; rarely looked under threat of not regaining 4 th spot.
Ten minutes later and it was a completely different complexion, as a three try blast by Hill, Locke and Walker-Blair had the Exiles well and truly on the ropes, and facing the real possibility of a humiliating outcome.

Eventual Man of the Match, Hill, was the slickest of the bunch after he combined well with loanee Dorrian, to burst through from 20m at pace.

No-one was going to stop the youngster from there and more of the same was to come, as this fresh half back pairing combined well all afternoon to create havoc.
The rest of the half scoring wise, belonged predominantly to Cook; as he slotted a couple of penalties before dotting down himself to cancel out Mugford’s charge down try three minutes earlier. The full back’s score being made initially by another Myles and Sam interchange, before skipper for the day, Morgan, left him with little option but to do the decent thing behind the posts.

The half concluded with a seminal moment but no further points, as the Pirates pack set up a maul on their own 22 to surely only relieve a defensive situation. Forty metres late and moving at a rate of knots that wouldn’t have disgraced a winger, it quite suddenly ended with a host of blue shirts hitching a lift and trying to request a stop.

Kellard took the rap on the pitch. While residents in Bodmin were reporting what they had thought to be an aftershock, to their earlier 2.2 earthquake.
After tea and now down to fourteen for their troubles, the Scots now had the sun in their faces and a gusty breeze to contend with. Their freshly donned white shirts were destined for a hotter than recommended wash it would seem.

And Lo. Within seconds of Mr Tempest rattling his pee for the restart, that man Doherty was scampering over in the Scoreboard Corner for his tenth try of the season so far, after the visitors were turned over in their own 22 once more.

At 35-10, Cornishbob must have been smugly content with his pre match score prediction, and willing the next thirty nine minutes to rush by without further ado.
For half an hour it seemed as if he might just get his wish, as the Exiles fared slightly better to finally break the siege lines on occasion. Their flood of replacements making a slight difference and blowing away any thoughts their coaching staff may have had pre-match of a 3 stop strategy. Think lollipop man and lineout practice.

Their one main chance of consolation came and went ten minutes in as firstly McAtee made the try saving tackle 10m out, and then Pape fumbled.
From here on, there was only one team in it, and it came as no surprise that Evans rounded off the afternoon with five to go. The Canadian opening his Pirate account in the process, with a carbon copy touchdown to that of the Doc in the Scoreboard Corner.

Rain threatened and darkness loomed. Nothing else for it then, but for Mr Tempest to end the contest in an anti-climactic moment of confusion and spare the pitch any further dents. Most notably from Amor whose persistent squabbling since his introduction, had a ‘quiet chat’ on the deck somewhere soon.
Mercy then for us all as the sing song in the bar beckoned with a melody of Cornish and Scottish songs emanating from within. A good weekend for the Pirates rounded off as it should be. Amen to that.

Cornish Pirates
15 R. Cook 14 R. McAtee 13 D. Locke (22 G. Pointer 55mins) 12 S. Hill 11 D. Doherty (21 M. Evans 60mins) 10 M. Dorrian 9 T. Kessell (20 J. Doherty 60mins) 8 K. Marriott 7 C. Walker-Blair (19 P. Burgess 71mins)
6 C. Morgan (Capt) 5 I. Nimmo 4 L. McGlone (18 D. Ewers 55mins) 3 R. Brits (16 A. Paver 65mins) 2 R. Elloway (17 D. Ward 71mins)
1 R. Storer (3 Brits 75min)
Replacements: all used

Tries: Hill, Locke, Walker-Blair, Cook, Doherty, Evans.
Cons: Cook
Pens: Cook 2

London Scottish
15 J. Sole 14 T. Holgate (21 G. Trueman 54mins) 13 A. Gosio 12 D. Mugford 11 D. Howells (20 S. Amor 66mins) 10 James Brown © 9 M. Heeks
8 J. Kellard 7 B. Lonergan (22 L. Calder 55mins) 6 W. Lipp
5 B. Thomas (19 Josh Brown HT) 4 K. Rudzki (18 S. Pape HT)
3 L. Thiede (17 A. Liffchak 47mins) 2 A. Kwasnicki (16 T. Standfield 41mins)
1 A. Clarke
Replacements: all used

Tries: Mugford
Cons: Mugford
Pens: Mugford

Yellow: Kellard

Match Officials
Referee: Ian Tempest
Assistants: Simon McConnell, Richard Parker-Sedgemore
Ref Coach: Ed Morrison
Man of the Match: Sam Hill
Attendance: 2,168

Big Puck reports: 5-STAR CHIEFTAINS RIDING HIGH IN THE LEAGUE

2011-12-05T11:37:00.002Z

Thanks to Pete and all at Chieftains for the report, apologies that we were unable to bring reports for the previous week. However on the 26th November they hammered Bristol pitBulls 10-0 and on the Sunday they beat Invicta Dynamos 4-1.

Streatham Redskins 0 - 5 Chieftains

Chelmsford Chieftains are sitting pretty at the top of the English National Ice Hockey League South as they go into the home winter break. With only one more home game before the New Year, Thursday 8th December at 8pm against arch-rivals Romford Raiders in the Essex Cup, the Chieftains sit just 1 point above the Raiders after a resounding 5-0 away win to Streatham Redskins on Sunday night. Missing Danny Cox, but welcoming back Sean Easton in defence, the Chieftains were able to soak up the limited offence offered by the Redskins in a comfortable performance. Man of the match Tom Long got 3 assists on goals for Jakub Klima and player-coach Gary Clarke's brace of goals. The other goals were provided by Alan Green and Ross Brears in what was a feisty match at times, including Long throwing a huge hit on former Chieftains and Warriors favourite Jerry Pavlus. In the final game that the Chieftains will play in Streatham's grand old rink, that's being knocked down in a few weeks time to make way for a shopping centre, David Wride gave a solid performance in the Chelmsford goal and kept a deserved clean sheet.

The Chelmsford Warriors were in action over the weekend on both nights and picked up maximum points. Firstly, after a long trip to South Wales, they picked up an impressive 4-1 win in a rink that's traditionally tough to pick up any points. Richard Whiting, Ben Osborne, Gary Brown and Grant Bartlett all scored in what was a very fiery game with plenty of niggly stuff going on. Grant's twin brother Cameron took home the man of the match award after a fine performance.

24 hours later and it was a much tighter affair at home as the Wightlink Tigers were at the Riverside, but once again Paul Wilcock led his team to another 2 points to keep the side in the promotion hunt. Whiting netted his second of the weekend, while Cameron Bartlett, Rory Garrett and Ricky Mills all got themselves on the scoresheet. Robert Manlove picked up the man of the match award to reward a strong display for Chelmsford's second side.

Next weekend sees the Chieftains heading to Slough, while the Warriors have a weekend off. The last chance to see the Chieftains in action in 2011 is on Thursday night in the Essex Cup at home to Romford Raiders at 8pm. This will also be the final chance to donate gifts to the Chieftains Hospital visit to Chelmsford hospital's childrens ward in a few weeks time. If you are wishing to donate, please make sure the gifts are new, wrapped and labelled for what age and what sex the present is aimed for.

Sol y Futbol: Lanzarote earn a point at Tenerife

2011-12-05T11:28:00.002Z

Catching up with games, this was Ian’s (he is the one on the right as you look at the photo) report from two weeks ago. Yesterdays report will be with us tomorrow. I know – lost myself in all this.

C.D. TENERIFE B 1 LANZAROTE 1

28th November 2011

The Rojillos came from behind to pick up a point and move up to seventh in the league table after an entertaining game with plenty of goal mouth action.

The game began at a fast pace with chances for both sides, the best of which fell to the Lanzarote Captain Rosmen but his effort went narrowly wide.

The home side took the lead in the 23rd minute from midfielder Saúl but only seven minutes later and Lanzarote were level. Rosmen won the ball well in the air and fed fellow strike partner Alex Yunes and the 22 year old fired home.

Tenerife finished the half on the front foot with two good opportunities from Joshua and Saúl but the Rojillos held on and went into the break with the score 1-1.

Lanzarote were much more positive in the opening stages of the second half and pinned their opponents back into their final third but their inability to find the net was evident to see.

As the game entered into the final minutes both teams had good chances to win the match but the contest ended fairly in a draw. Next Sunday the Rojillos will be looking to extend on their five match unbeaten run when they host second from bottom side C.D. Laguna.

Kult & Punk: St Pauli late equaliser at Paderborn

2011-12-05T11:20:00.001Z

The boys have been beside themselves about not being able to contact you for so long. Actually the truth is the new guest ale in Zoë’s, the Goblin Elf; they have not noticed a thing.

SC Paderborn 07 1-1 FC St. Pauli

A late, late equaliser from Fabian Boll ensured Andre Schubert's return to SC Paderborn as coach of new club St. Pauli did not end in the disappointment of defeat.

As expected these two early frontrunners offered plenty of evidence to support their promotion bids in a first half full of quality. The visitors' Mahir Saglik went close with almost half an hour gone when he cut inside and fired just over and SCP keeper Max Kruse saved another effort from Fin Bartels, but it was the home side who took the lead just before the break as Nick Proschwitz (45') hammered in his tenth of the season on the bounce.

Boll steps up

Considering the timing of the goal, Pauli did well not to let their heads drop and piled on the pressure in the second half, sending countless deliveries into the hosts' area. A left-wing cross agonisingly evaded Sören Brandy at the other end as SCP came close to a second, but it was a rare moment of respite as the away side continued to probe.

It looked as though Deniz Naki had spurned the Kiezkickers' final chance to level the scores when he rounded the keeper but blazed wildly over with three minutes remaining, but up stepped Boll (90+3') to head in the final corner of the match and ensure St. Pauli maintained a three-point lead over their rivals.

While we were away doing our nails, St Pauli played the previous weekend. Exciting, I know you’re beside yourselves. Below is the match report.

FC St. Pauli 3-1 Dynamo Dresden

FC St. Pauli moved up to third with a turnaround home victory over Dresden at the Millerntor. The result leaves the Hamburg side level on 35 points with leaders Eintracht Frankfurt and Fortuna Düsseldorf, who take on fourth-place Greuther Fürth in the big Monday game. Promoted Dynamo are treading water in mid-table on the back of their third straight defeat.

The game got off to a decidedly leisurely start and only really sparked into life after the break as St. Pauli slowly cranked up the tempo. It was the visitors whop broke the deadlock against the run of play however, Zlatko Dedic finishing off a 66th-minute counter-attack after team-mate Pavel Fort got the better of home keeper PhilippTschauner one-on-one.

Hosts go into overdrive

St. Pauli's response was swift, Fabian Boll connecting with Dennis Daube's free kick just five minutes later to pull them level again. With virtually their next attack, the hosts then went in front thanks to a fine combination between two substitutes. Marius Ebbers provided the assist with a backheel and Deniz Naki the finish with a thumping drive from the edge of the box.

Robert Koch and Cheikh Gueye both passed up chances to pull Dresden level inside the final ten minutes, but Ebbers made the result safe with five minutes to go, knocking home a low ball in from Patrick Funk.

Normal service will be resumed.

2011-12-05T10:54:00.003Z

Sorry about the lack of posts over the past two weeks, we have had technical issues that we have had to overcome. We had hoped to bring a fresh new look to the blog, but unfortunately that will not be launched until January 2012.

We will also have brand new features for your enjoyment.

It has been an unbelievable time, with the passing of 2 footballing greats. Socrates died over the weekend, a member of one of the most exciting Brazilian sides not to win a World Cup.

The biggest shock of all was Gary Speed. I would like to officially add our thoughts and prayers to the family and many friends. We met Gary 2 or 3 times as part of a group or at functions. The kindness and warmth you felt when meeting him was that of a great man, a true gent. He would greet you as a long lost friend, regardless of whether you had been in his company before.

The united front of football at the loss of Gary, indicates the high esteem he was held by those who worked with him, who (like us) had been in his presence very briefly, those who simply enjoyed watching him play and the teams he sent out.

Gary Speed - rest in peace.

Big Puck reports: one win, two defeats over the weekend

2011-11-22T14:51:00.002Z

Thanks to Pete Lewis and the guys from the Chieftains for supplying the information.

It was disappointment and frustration in the main for the Chelmsford ice hockey teams this past weekend as the South East Cup was won by the Romford Raiders at the Riverside on Saturday, despite the Chieftains only playing 2 games of their allocated 6 in the competition. The Chieftains will be kicking themselves after going 5-2 ahead and allowing 3 goals in less than a minute during the second period. Tom Long got the Chieftains off and running early on but Danny Marshall and Grant Taylor both beat netminder David Wride to make it 2-1 before the end of the period. In the second the Chelmsford side scored twice in the first 2 minutes to go 3-2 up through Danny Hammond and Jakub Klima. Then they went 5-2 ahead with the goals coming from Long and Gary Clarke. Then disaster struck 35:27 when Matt Turner scored, followed up 29 seconds later through Jason Buckman and then seconds later Billy Phillips tied the game up. Two late goals in the third from Juraj Huska and JJ McGrath sealed the win and the first piece of silverware on offer this season.

Onto Sunday and Player-Coach Clarke knew he'd have to re-group the troops and get a good result against an improving Milton Keynes side. An early scare saw Joe Edwards fire past Ben Clements and many of the Chieftains faithful had their heads in their hands. However Clarke once again led by example and tied the game up from a neat pass from Long who'd go on to get a richly deserved man of the match award. Long was provider once again for Klima before Michael Ranby stepped up with a brace in fairly quick succession. Klima scored again, followed by Harrison Goode getting a consolation for the Thunder and then Ross Brears netted to cap a fine display from the youngster. Then the gloves came off as Danny Cox took apart Vladimir Hubka in retribution after Hubka had put Klima head-first into the boards. Long scored twice more and also provided Clarke with his second of the night to round out a convincing 9-2 win.

Meanwhile on the Isle of Wight a feisty game between the Tigers and Warriors was overshadowed by some questionable officiating. Reports from the rink suggest that a number of the misconduct penalties given out were unnecessary and uncalled for and this made a mockery of the game. The Warriors fell to a tight 8-7 defeat after seeing 4 misconduct penalties given against them, including a bizarre game misconduct for captain Will Polston who left the bench to query the officials after a fight between Connor Swainsbury and Tigers veteran Chris Randall. Scorers for Warriors were Ben Osborne and Richard Whiting with two a piece, Ricky Mills, Grant Bartlett and Swainsbury.

Sol y Futbol: Lanzarote beat League leaders.

2011-11-22T14:37:00.002Z

Ian Lane reports from Arrecife, as Lanzarote put on a classy display to beat the top team.

LANZAROTE 1 S.D. TENISCA 0

Lanzarote have beaten league leaders S.D. Tenisca with a display that oozed with class, determination and passion that eventually led to a winner two minutes from time by Javi Betancort.

The Rojillos began the match in positive fashion dominating possession and creating the clearer chances. In the eighth minute a cross from the right by the Rojillos outstanding number 21 Ayoze Pérez was met by striker Rosmen, the tall centre forward once again saw his header hit the woodwork for the umpteenth this season.

Ayoze and defender Ángel Gil combined superbly down the right flank but their crosses were defended by a well organised back four. The visitors were fast on the break and with the league’s best strike force of Dani López, Memo and Adrían Gutiérrez who have bagged all but two of their teams 30 goals this season meant Lanzarote had to be on their guard.

One of the few opportunities for the La Palma side came from a free kick in the 27th minute. Defender Cabrera cleanly struck a free kick from 30 yards which whistled through the air aided by the breeze and goalkeeper Santi Lampón did well to dive and palm the ball away for a corner.

The Rojillos did not ease up on their visitors with Ayoze creating huge problems for the Tenisca left back. Almost every match tourists constantly come up to me asking who is number 21. The Lanzarote attacking midfielder Ayoze Pérez is most definitely playing his football in a league inferior to his capabilities.

Just after the half hour and Rosmen shot from the edge of the area only for his effort to inch past the post.

At the end of what was a hugely entertaining first half defender Adrián Martín had two efforts saved by goalkeeper Oliver Vega both from corners.

The opening stages of the second half were evenly balanced but it wasn’t long until the Rojillos picked up the pace and had their opponents defending. The La Palma side were forced to retreat following wave after wave of Rojillo attack but defend they did and saw off everything Lanzarote were throwing at them.

In the 60th minute and 69th saw the introduction of Toñito and Gustavo García respectively. This upped the tempo and forced the visitors to defend desperately in their final third. The Rojillos were getting closer and closer as their opponents began to tire.

Ten minutes before time and a quick counter attack forced Lanzarote keeper Santi Lampón to make a fine from a low drive at the near post from midfielder Jeffrey.

With two minutes remaining winger Toñito did what he does best by racing towards the by line and chipping in a teasing cross which could only be palmed away by the keeper. The ball fell to Javi Betancort at shoulder height and he somehow managed to wrap his foot around the ball and blast it into the net at the same height he had received it and sent the supportive crowd into a frenzy of delight.

The visitors then threw caution to the wind as they desperately went in search of an equaliser. Two minutes into stoppage time and defender Jordan let rip with a beauty from 30 yards. 39 year old Santi Lampón threw himself to the ball and tipped it wide for a corner showing why he has the best goalkeeping record in the league.

The Rojillos held on and deservedly claimed all three points which moves them up to eighth spot and four points off the play offs. Lanzarote have now taken 10 points out of their last four games but will face a tough test next Sunday when they visit Tenerife B who are just one play below the Rojillos in the league table.

WSN Basketball: Wasps tame the Tigers

2011-11-20T19:44:00.001Z

Thank you to Dave Bushall and the team at Hull Wasps, for the match report and photo.

Hull Wasps 94 Mersey Tigers II 47

Hull Wasps battled back to winning ways with an impressive performance over Mersey Tigers II on Saturday evening.

The Wasps got off to a flyer in front of their home fans, scoring their first 8 points without reply and ultimately ending the first quarter 23-11 ahead.
The game continued for much of the same with the Wasps having strong second and third periods before closing the game off in the final period to seal the victory at 94-47.

“It was an improved performance by us” commented Wasps coach Matt Fawcett after the game.

“We were determined to put in a solid performance tonight. We knew that a strong start would be crucial to taking control in the game. We’ve not done that of late and that’s cost us so we were determined to put that right today.”

It was a good performance and we can take a lot of positives from the game. We’ll go on from here and hope to put a run of results together that our fans deserve.”
Saturday’s game was the final one for club favourite Rob Birchmore who will leave the club this week as he moves back home to Edinburgh.

Captain John Brignell led the line for the Wasps with 20 points. James Rayner came a close second with 19 and was awarded Most Valuable Player.

Gwrys Yn Kernow: Pirates run Bristol close in the Championship

2011-11-20T19:34:00.004Z

Thank you to Woll for the match report, Brian Tempest for the photo and all our friends at the Pirates for supplying the report. www.cornish-pirates.com

Bristol 37 Cornish Pirates 33

RFU Championship Round 11

The Memorial Ground

Woll's Match Report

The contest had been billed as the game of the Championship so far, and few would doubt such an accolade as time was finally called by Mr Rose, with the Pirates desperately trying to sneak it at the end of a 70 point thriller.

That they had been under the cosh for the last twenty minutes and seen a thoroughly deserved 16 point cushion evaporate, only added further salt to the wounds. The Memorial hoodoo continues therefore, and the chance to record only the club's second win at the venue will have to wait a little longer. The Play Offs perhaps? Now that has a ring to it n'est pas?

Either way, the pain of knowing that the platform had been put in place with ample evidence of their own credentials having been on show for the first hour will hurt. Severely. But it may be just the trigger needed to add further incentive to push even harder for the Dream to be realised, now that the Sportiva Kernow seems now at last to be on the horizon.

And yet only a short time earlier as Kessell scampered over for his side's fifth try of the contest, the Cornishmen appeared to be on the verge of a famous win. In the west the sunset and skyline looked magnificent and suddenly we believed.

They'd been a brief show of Bristol strength in the first half for some ten minutes or so; triggered as it was by a huge hit on Locke by former Pirate; Fatialofa; that seemed to be the spark the home side needed; having been totally outplayed in the first ten and down to Suniula's first Pirate try that had stunned in the opening minute.

The centre then went on to score himself and backed up by the trusty boot of Roberts, pulled the hosts back from their early straits and into a narrow three point lead as the game moved into its second quarter.

It wasn't to last. With Burgess and Marriott continuing to cut huge holes in the Bristol defence the Pirates weathered the storm well and forced their way back into contention once more. Pressure built and home prop Hobson cracked first as another strong Pirates maul surged towards the line. His indiscretion cost him a ten minute spell with his feet up as a result of Sir's fumble in the pocket for the requisite yellow card, and the visitors exploited this numbers deficiency ruthlessly.

That man Ward was the first to benefit as he jinked his way through in front of the Family Enclosure. Whilst The Doc had the crowd on its feet as half time approached, as he first created some space just inside the Bristol half; and then switched on the after burners to leave his opponents for dust to score in the opposite corner. A special try and the best of the game.

Cook quietly added the extras each time and at the break then it was 21-10 and looking rather rosy.

This feeling continued into the second period as the Pirates picked up from they'd left off. Cook missed a chance to add three straightaway; but as Ward wriggled through for his second dot down minutes later after some patient build up play; the bonus point was in the bag. And a return to the top beckoned as Cook's fourth conversion screwed in between the uprights.

Home Skipper Grieve however lead by example and quickly responded with a try close to the posts to give what seemed like a flicker of hope. Until that was Kessell cancelled that out almost immediately following a deft show and go by Morgan, to surely restore order.

If only. identical tries by Merriman and Goodridge sliced the Pirates defence in two and with Roberts seemingly kicking everything from Filton and further afield; a repeat of their epic comeback at home to London Welsh looked eminently do-able.

Even Compton and Nimmo's contre-temps couldn't prevent the blue hooped wave of belief from completing the task. As Mr Rose only wrapped some knuckles and threatened a no supper sanction if it should repeat itself.

It didn't. Thus Roberts' final pot at the posts with less than five to play ensured the Pirates would only grab the honours subject to a sixth touchdown. Despite one final flourish this wasn't to be and that sick feeling wasn't to receive a cure this time.

Two points and a fourth spot will have to suffice as we enter the return fixture phase of Stage 1. It may have been nice to switch the emphasis away from jumping through hoops, but there is still a way to go before the braying can begin from Duchy's high points just yet. I somehow suspect that yer man Stirling has this in hand and we all know that as bitter as this may taste right now; nothing short of total commitment both on and off the pitch should be expected....

Cornish Pirates
15 R. Cook 14 G. Pointer 13 D. Locke 12 A. Suniula 11 D. Doherty
10 C. Thomas (22 M. Evans 33mins) 9 G. Cattle (capt)(21 T. Kessell 53mins)
8 K. Marriott (20 B. Cowan 60mins) 7 P. Burgess 6 C. Morgan (19 C. Walker-Blair 71mins) 5 I. Nimmo 4 L. McGlone 3 C. Rimmer (18 P. Andrew 57mins) 2 D. Ward 1 R. Storer (16 A. Paver 37mins)

Replacements: un-used 17 R. Elloway

Tries: Suniula, Ward 2, Doherty, Kessell
Cons: Cook 4

Bristol
15 S. Marsden 14 J. Tovey 13 F. Otto 12 J. Fatialofa 11 J. Goodridge
10 T. Roberts 9 T. Slater (21 R. Tipuna 48mins) 1 M. Irish (17 D. Crompton 41mins) 2 R. Lawrence (16 J. Harris-Wright HT) 3 J. Hobson 4 M. Sambucetti (19 J. Ovens 48mins) 5 R. Winters 6 I. Grieve (c) 7 J. Merriman (20 M. Mama 71mins)
8 D. Montagu (18 W. Thompson 27-37 mins)

Replacements: un-used 18 W. Thompson, 22 M. Davies

Tries: Fatialofa, Grieve, Merriman, Goodridge
Cons: Roberts 4
Pens: Roberts 3

Yellow: Hobson

Match Officials
Referee: David Rose
Assistants: Richard John Kelly, James Minards
4th Official: Andy Weymouth
Assessor: Ashley Reay

Attendance: 6044

Kult & Punk: St Pauli keep pressure on at the top

2011-11-19T20:54:00.003Z

After the International break, the boys are back in gowns. It was to support public workers in Hamburg, they scrubbed up as Doctors and nurses. Still a good day had by all, inflatables of Angela Merkels and Sepp Blatter bumped into each other, the Euro deflated and goodness only knows what Berlesconi's was doing round the corner, only the air hole could be seen. To top the day, St Pauli won.

F.C. Hansa Rostock 1-3 FC St. Pauli

After the hosts had fought their way back into the game despite being a man down, the game looked certain to become the first ever draw between the two sides, before two late strikes decided the match in the visitors' favour.

Rostock began the better of the two teams, defying their position near the bottom of the table by pressuring their visitors high up the pitch, but Tom Weilandt's straight red card for dangerous foul play early on meant the hosts were forced to readjust their tactics. Pauli dominated thereafter, as Rostock packed the defence and were restricted to intermittent counter attacks. Pauli eventually broke the deadlock with a break of their own: after Robert Müller wasted a good chance to score for the home side, the visitors' rapid counter ended with Max Kruse poking home (40').

Rostock draw level

The hosts equalised shortly after the re-start, capitalising on some slack defending by Pauli. Keeper Philipp Tschauner spilled Robert Müller's shot, after the unmarked midfielder was allowed to meet Michael Blum's cross from the left and Marek Mintal was on hand to tap home the rebound (50'). The goal invigorated the home side, who once again pushed forward, with the visitors were unable to press home their numerical advantage. Yet as Rostock tired towards the end, the guests struck to take all three points, Mahir Saglik's brace (80', 90+1') putting the game beyond Rostock's reach.

The visitors' fourth consecutive away win lifted them to third in the table, while Rostock will be frustrated after coming away empty handed following a spirited performance that leaves them languishing near the foot of the table.

Former England cricketer Basil D'Oliveira dies

2011-11-19T20:47:00.002Z

Basil D’Oliveira, the England cricket great and worldwide symbol of the fight against sporting apartheid, has died at the age of 80.

This post by Patrick Sawer, is supplied by our friends at the Daily Telegraph.

D'Oliveira's selection for England in 1968 led to South Africa’s sporting isolation after the racist regime refused to accept his presence in the squad due to tour the country that year.

D’Oliveira, known affectionately as Dolly, had been chosen to play for England after leaving his native South Africa in 1960. But South African Prime Minister BJ Voster told the English cricket authorities he would not be allowed to play.

The subsequent cancellation of the tour was a watershed in the sporting boycott of South Africa and led to an intensification of the campaign to isolate the apartheid regime. No official team from any country subsequently toured South Africa until apartheid was abolished, following Nelson Mandela's release from prison in 1990.
Tributes to D’Oliveira began pouring in on news of his death.

Cricket South Africa chief executive Gerald Majola said: “He was a man of true dignity and a wonderful role model as somebody who overcame the most extreme prejudices and circumstances to take his rightful place on the world stage.

“The circumstances surrounding his being prevented from touring the country of his birth with England in 1968 led directly to the intensification of opposition to apartheid around the world and contributed materially to the sports boycott that turned out to be an Achilles’ heel of the apartheid government.

“Throughout this shameful period in South Africa’s sporting history, Basil displayed a human dignity that earned him worldwide respect and admiration."

In fact, the D’Oliveira affair was not as clear cut as subsequent history as made it appear.

The MCC initially buckled under pressure from South African cricket officials and decided not to pick D’Oliveira for inclusion in the 1968 tour. The pretext used was that his style of bowling would not be suited to his native country.

However, the public outcry over the decision not to include him in the squad led to the MCC relenting and calling him up to replace Warwickshire’s Tom Cartwright when he was ruled out due to injury.

D’Oliveira was born in Cape Town in 1931 and as a child quickly began to display a phenomenal talent for cricket. However, under South Africa’s apartheid laws he was classed as "coloured" and barred from playing first class cricket.

He went on to captain South Africa’s national non-white cricket team and played football for the non-white national side, but with the help of the commentator John Arlott and the journalist John Kay Dolly emigrated to England where he joined the Central Lancashire League team of Middleton.

The move proved an eye opener for D’Oliveira, who was surprised to see white people doing menial, labouring work and waiting on him in restaurants.
He joined Worcestershire in 1964 and became a British citizen. Two years later he was selected for England as an all-rounder, and in 1967 was one of Wisden’s cricketers of the year.

Mr Majola said: “The fact that he could have a Test career batting average of 40 in 44 Tests and an economy rate of less than two with the ball on his way to 47 wickets was remarkable considering he was past his prime when he made his debut for England in his mid-30s.

“One can only imagine what he might have achieved had he made his debut as he should have done at the age of 20 on South Africa’s tour of England in 1951.

“I would like to pay tribute also to all those people in England, notably John Arlott, one of the greatest cricket radio commentators of all time, for the roles they played in making it possible for Basil to achieve his dream of playing international cricket for his adopted country."

D’Oliveira played in 44 test matches, scoring 2,484 runs, with five Test centuries and a batting average of 40.06. He took 47 Test wickets.

As well as being an ambassador for a sport free of discrimination he was also a tough competitor.

The night following England’s 2-0 series win over Australia in 1970-71 he took to jabbing his forefinger of every Australian he met, saying: “We stuffed you.”
D’Oliveira was suffering from Parkinson's disease.

Liverpool FC can't keep relying on Suarez

2011-11-18T14:08:00.003Z

Upon requests from many of our readers, who are Liverpool fans, we will occasionally post stories from the blog, Liverpool Banter, created by our friends at Liverpool Echo and Liverpool Daily Post .

This post is by Jack Watson, a Columnist @ Liverpool Banter, www.liverpoolbanter.co.uk

So far this season, Liverpool have been very inconsistent. They have gone from the highs of winning 2-0 at the Emirates to disappointing draws at home to newly-promoted sides, Norwich City and Swansea City.

Much of this is down to the lack of goals being scored. After 11 league games, only 14 goals have hit the opposition net which just isn't good enough. Liverpool have hit the woodwork 11 times this season, though, which softens the blow a little.

The Reds sit fifth in the table, three points behind Tottenham who have a game in hand. Luckily, it is only early in the season but we can't continue to let our rivals stretch a lead over us. Arsenal may be below us but they have reignited their season over the past few weeks with some strong performances and keep collecting points.

The problem is clearly scoring goals. There are plenty of chances being created, but only 9% of them are being taken. - OptaStats

Luis Suarez is the most active Liverpool player in front of goal, constantly creating chances for not only his teammates, but himself. He continues to stretch defences, create openings and get shots in on goal. He managed 11 shots - alone - against Norwich City but Liverpool stumbled to a 1-1 draw.

He wasn't at his best last time out against Swansea - where the Reds drew 0-0 - but, again, he was the most potent attacking threat.

Much has been written of Andy Carroll this season, about his under-performing, and it has to be said; he really needs to buck up his ideas. You can see glimpses of the talent he possesses but he doesn't do that enough.

He proved this by crashing a shot into the crossbar from six-yards out against Swansea and sending a late header wide when Norwich visited Anfield. He has a lack of confidence and a run in the team may do him well.

The problem Liverpool have on their hands is this: over the summer, the club tried to build the team around Carroll when, in fact, it should have been built around Suarez.

It is as clear as daylight that the little Uruguayan needs a strike partner - unless Andy Carroll starts scoring - or Liverpool will continue to suffer in front of goal.

But who does Comolli bring in? Edinson Cavani of Napoli and Uruguay? Someone who links up so well with Suarez. I'd welcome Cavani to Anfield with open arms and a big hug.

In the absence of Steven Gerrard, Kenny Dalglish is effectively losing 10-20 goals a season from midfield and, so far, no one looks likely to step up in place of the skipper.

Charlie Adam gets forward plenty of times throughout matches, but he's not a lethal goalscorer. He's good for 5-10 goals, but that's about it. Lucas will never be a proper goalscoring threat - quite evidently.

It then comes down to the flanks where Stewart Downing has drifted in and out of games all season and has barely tested any goalkeepers. (The same could be said of Dirk Kuyt). It is fair to say he has been unlucky, though, striking the woodwork on more than one occasion. However, at £20 million, you'd expect a lot more from him.

Recently, there has been a lot of calls for Maxi to return to the starting line-up as he links up well with Suarez. I'd have to agree with this. When the two South Americans played together at the tail-end of last season, they looked excellent. Maxi even grabbed a few goals for himself.

My solution is Dalglish reverts to the tried-and-trusted 4-2-3-1 formation. Give Andy Carroll more of a chance to prove himself over the festive period and play Downing, Suarez and Maxi behind him. And until Gerrard returns, keep the Adam and Lucas partnership together.

Put keep the faith as the goals will flow. This may come across as criticism and put-downs to the team but it is not. The chances are being created, they just need to be put away.

Big Puck reports. A mixed weekend for the Chieftains

2011-11-15T14:34:00.002Z

Big Puck reports as Chieftains have a mixed weekend. Thanks to Pete Lewis and all at the Chieftains for the reports.

It was a mixed weekend of results for the Chelmsford ice hockey teams as the Chieftains picked up 2 of 4 points on offer. After a long trip down to South Wales on Saturday night it was always going to be tough for the team to get into gear early on and so it proved as the first period ended all square at 2-2. The Chieftains and Devils traded goals with the Essex team’s goals coming from player-coach Gary Clarke and Ross Brears. After 2 periods neither side had been able to get any advantage going and it was all square at 3-3 with the Chieftains marker coming from Alan Green. Into the third and the Chieftains couldn't get into gear as the Devils stepped it up and ended up running out 7-4 winners.

Back in Essex the Warriors were in action against the Oxford City Stars B, but were able to overcome them comfortably 5-2 with Cameron Bartlett continuing his good form with 2 goals and the others coming from Rich Whiting, Steve Woodford and Ben Osborne. Former Superleague goalie Nathan Lawrence picked up the man of the match award after a fine display in goal for the Warriors.

Onto Sunday and the Wightlink Raiders were in town in an always intense affair at the Riverside. With both sides having fairly equal shares of play in the first, the Isle of Wight side took the lead through Stuart Tait to end the period with their noses in front. Joe Rand then put the Raiders 2-0 up and defeat was looking likely. However Clarke rallied his men and took control of the game and ran in 4 unanswered goals with Clarke netting twice, preceded by Michael Ranby and Danny Hammond scoring to tie the game up. Into the final period and the Chieftains were in complete control of the game despite the best efforts of the Raiders and Dominic Hopkins scoring, it ended 5-3 with Ross Brears scoring late on after the Raiders pulled their netminder for an extra skater in an attempt to tie the game up.

After the game Danny Hammond was presented with the Karen Bloomfield Memorial Award for the 'Player of the Month' for October after a series of outstanding displays.

Saturday 19th sees the Chieftains entertain Romford Raiders in the South East Cup which will surely be another tight and fiesty affair with the Raiders looking to take back bragging rights after losing their 13 game winning streak to the Chieftains a few short weeks ago. The Warriors on the other hand head south to the Isle of Wight to take on the Wightlink Tigers. Milton Keynes Thunder visit on Sunday night too to play the Chieftains.

WSN Basketball: Double trouble for the Wasps

2011-11-15T14:21:00.002Z

Thanks to Dave Bushall and the guys at the Wasps for the following reports, covering the two games last weekend.

Hull Wasps failed to bounce back from last weekend's defeat against Burnley with a 74-56 defeat at Stockport Falcons.

A poor first half performance proved to be the ultimate downfall for the visiting Wasps as Stockport took complete control of the game. The Falcons took a 36-19 lead into the half-time interval.

Wasps managed to restore some pride in the second half by closing the gap in the third but it was all too late and ultimately failed to impact on the game.
Captain John Brignell was missing for the game and will also miss the game against Leeds Carnegie II tomorrow at the Bonus Arena, 6:30pm tip-off.

Matt Brutnell top-scored for the Wasps with 14 points, while James Rayner and Rob Birchmore contributed 12 and 8 points respectively.

Hull Wasps went down 86-67 to Division 3 Leeds Carnegie II in the National Shield on Sunday evening.

Leeds were always favourites but the Wasps put in a courageous performance but couldn't recover from a second-quarter run from the visitors.

Wasps held their own in the opening quarter but Leeds out-performed them in the second to open up a 17 point lead going into the half-time interval.

A very even second-half played out in front of the home crowd but the Wasps couldn’t bring themselves back into the game and Leeds claimed the spoils to head into the quarter-finals.

Following the weekend, Hull Wasps player-coach Matt Fawcett said: “We knew it would be a tough weekend against two top sides. So it proved.

“Stockport are undefeated but we felt confident going into the game that we could be the first team to beat them this season. We’re working harder each week and we have the players to go out there and perform each week.

“We’re making progress which is important and it was good to show that we can compete with the top teams, particularly with our performance on Sunday. There will be a game soon where we will start to click. A big win is on its way I’m sure.”

Adrian Blatherwick top scored for the Wasps with 28 points. James Rayner and Rob Birchmore scored 10 and 9 points respectively. Captain John Brignell missed the game but is set to return this Saturday against Mersey Tigers II at the Bonus Arena (5:30pm).

Sol y Futbol: Lanzarote return home with a point

2011-11-14T16:02:00.002Z

Ian Lane reports from Tenerife, as Lanzarote come away with a point.

ATLÉTICO VICTORIA 0 LANZAROTE 0

The Rojillos will return from Tenerife with a point but their failure to score goals this season is proving to be their number one problem. 13 goals from 15 matches played says it all, with only one club with a worse statistic. On the other hand no other club in the league has a better defensive record than Lanzarote.

Some 0-0 draws don’t tell the full story with near misses, goal line clearances thrilling the paying public. This was not one of those games. The Rojillos will see this match as two points lost but in reality Lanzarote didn’t deserve any better after participating in a dour 90 minutes of football.

The balance of play in the opening 45 minutes was evenly balanced. The Rojillos were first to threaten from Venezuelan Alex Yunes whose strike was brilliantly tipped onto the post by the Tenerife keeper. The only other notable part of the first half was a counter attack by the home side in the 15th minute. Lanzarote´s defence was stretched which resulted in defender Tello forcing a good save from the Rojillos veteran keeper Santi Lampón.

If the supporters thought they had already seen the worst half of the match they were sorely mistaken as both teams managed to put on a worse performance in the second half. Ten minutes from time the locals dominated possession but didn’t create one clear chance. Finally the Ref blew for full time to the relief of what was left of the tired crowd.

Lanzarote host league leaders S.D. Tenisca next Sunday. The La Palma side are flying high with their in form striker Dani López amassing the same amount of goals as the entire Lanzarote squad and are sitting a full 10 points ahead of Lanzarote in the league table.

Sport and the First World War

2011-11-12T21:23:00.002Z

On the eve of Remembrance Sunday we found this article by John Simkin, about sport and the First World War.

On the outbreak of the First World War some of Britain's leading sportsmen joined the British Army. This including Ronnie Poulton-Palmer, the captain of England's rugby team. Capped 17 times in a match against France in 1914 he scored four tries. He was also chairman of the Huntley and Palmer biscuit business in Reading.

Poulton-Palmer was killed at Ploegsteert Wood on 5th May, 1915. A fellow officer reported that when he went round the company at dawn "almost every man was crying". Poulton-Palmer was one of 26 England rugby international players killed in the war. A further 30 Scottish internationals also lost their lives during the conflict.

Tony Wilding was Wimbledon's singles champion four years running (1910, 1911, 1912, 1913). He also won the doubles final four times. In June, 1914, Wilding lost the men's singles final to Norman Brookes. On the outbreak of the war Wilding joined the Royal Naval Air Service. Tony Wilding was killed during an attack on enemy sniper posts at Neuve Chapelle on 9th May, 1915.

Frederick S. Kelly won the Diamond Sculls at Henley in 1902, 1903 and 1905. He was also a member of the gold winning team at the London Olympics in 1908. In 1915 he fought at Gallipoli and won the Distinguished Service Cross for conspicuous gallantry. Kelly was killed at Beaucourt-sur-Ancre on 13th November, 1916.

In 1912 Gerard Anderson broke the world record at the 440-yards hurdles. Later that year he took part in the Stockholm Olympics. Unfortunately he suffered a freak accident in the final and finished without a medal. Anderson went to France with the Cheshire Regiment and was killed in action at Hooge, near Ypres, on 9th November, 1914.

During the First World War 210 county cricketers served in the armed forces. Of these, 34 were killed. This included Percy Jeeves, an outstanding allrounder with Warwickshire, was killed at the Somme in July, 1916. He was immortalized when the author, P. G. Woodhouse, who had been a great fan of the cricketer, named Bertie Wooster's manservant Jeeves.

Kent's Colin Blythe, who took 100 wickets for England in 19 test matches. Blythe was killed at Passchendaele in November, 1917.

It was football that provided the most soldiers during the war. At the beginning of the 1914 football season, Hearts was Scotland's most successful team, winning eight games in succession. On 26th November, 1914, every member of the team joined the British Army. This event had a major impact on the public and inspired footballers and their fans to enlist. Many professional players, joined the 1st Football Battalion of the Middlesex Regiment.

Seven members of the Hearts team never returned to Scotland. Three of the men, Harry Wattie, Duncan Currie and Ernie Ellis, were killed on the first day of the Somme offensive. Another member of the team, 22 year old Paddy Crossan, was so badly injured that his right leg was labeled for amputation. He pleaded with the German surgeon not to operate. He told him: "I need my legs - I'm a footballer." He agreed to his request and managed to save his leg. Crossan survived the war but later died as a result of his lungs being destroyed by poison gas.

Donald Bell, a defender with Bradford City, became the first professional footballer to join the British Army. He enlisted as a private but by June, 1915 he had a commission in the Yorkshire Regiment. Two days after his marriage in November, 1915, he was sent to France.

Second Lieutenant Bell took part in the Somme offensive. On 5th July he stuffed his pockets with grenades and attacked an enemy machine-gun post. When he attempted to repeat this feat five days later he was killed. He was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross for his action of 5th July. It is the only one ever awarded to a professional footballer.

Jimmy Speirs played for Glasgow Rangers and Clyde before signing for Bradford City. He became captain and scored the only goal when the team won the FA Cup final against Newcastle United in 1911. The following year he joined Leeds United.

On the outbreak of the First World War Speirs he enlist in the Queens Own Cameron Highlanders. He was posted to France in March 1916. After winning the Military Medal for bravery in the field he was promoted to the rank of sergeant. Speirs was killed at Passchendaele on 20th August 1917.

Walter Tull, was another outstanding footballer who abandoned his career and offered his services to the British Army. Tull, who had played for and Northampton Town, joined the 1st Football Battalion of the Middlesex Regiment. The Army soon recognised Tull's leadership qualities and he was promoted to the rank of sergeant. In July 1916, Tull took part in the major Somme offensive. Tull survived this experience but in December 1916 he developed trench fever and was sent home to England to recover.

Tull had impressed his senior officers and recommended that he should be considered for further promotion. When he recovered from his illness, instead of being sent back to France, he went to the officer training school at Gailes in Scotland. Despite military regulations forbidding "any negro or person of colour" being an officer, Tull received his commission in May, 1917.

Lieutenant Tull was sent to the Italian front. This was an historic occasion because Tull was the first ever black officer in the British Army. He led his men at the Battle of Piave and was mentioned in dispatches for his "gallantry and coolness" under fire.

Walter Tull stayed in Italy until 1918 when he was transferred to France to take part in the attempt to break through the German lines on the Western Front. On 25th March, 1918, 2nd Lieutenant Tull was ordered to lead his men on an attack on the German trenches at Favreuil. Soon after entering No Mans Land Tull was hit by a German bullet. Tull was such a popular officer that several of his men made valiant efforts under heavy fire from German machine-guns to bring him back to the British trenches. These efforts were in vain as Tull had died soon after being hit. Tull's body was never found. Eleven former members of Tottenham Hotspur were killed during the war.

Gwrys Yn Kernow: Pirates enjoy cup win in Munster

2011-11-12T20:54:00.002Z

Thank you to Brian Tempest for the photo and to Barry Coughlan, from the Irish Examiner, for the match report

Munster 6 Cornish Pirates 10

British & Irish Cup Round 3

Clonmel RFC

Friday 11th November 2011

The people of Ireland will be reading this report in the Irish Examiner this morning (Sat 12) and I have no doubt the travelling Pirates fans will have nothing but the greatest admiration for the hospitality and camaraderi of Clonmel Rugby Club and the people of clonmel.

Report thanks to: Barry Coughlan Courtesy Irish Examiner.

THE excitement hit fever pitch as this entertaining British and Irish Cup tie drew to a dramatic conclusion at wind swept Ard Na Gaoithe, Clonmel last night, Cornish Pirates snatching a fortuitous victory with an 80 th minute penalty try converted by Rob Cook.

It was a tough end for a Munster side that gave as good as they got throughout an exciting and hotly disputed contest. The penalty try was probably inevitable as Cornish Pirates piled on the pressure with a series of strong scrums that forced Munster to concede a succession of penalties before referee Ian Tempest finally lost patience.

But it shouldn't have come to that; the pressure exerted by the visitors in that sequence was isolated to just that few minutes of a second half dominated by Munster, although not always in the set pieces. Ironically, field position was conceded when Munster coughed up possession from their own line out throw. Set piece dominance ultimately won the day for the Pirates.

Munster coach Ian Costello was clearly disappointed, noting: “I thought we were in control and we had had chances to finish off the game, to get beyond the seven points lead we would have needed. What transpired should have been in our control but we lost more line outs than we would have expected, threw away a couple of loose passes in good attacking positions and turned over a couple of vital scrums. For all that, we could still have won.”

First chance fell to the visitors in ten minutes but Rob Cook's penalty attempt fell to the left and wide in the awkward wind conditions.

That wind was to play havoc, with both sides struggling to cope, particularly with kicks out of hand. Despite the mistakes, it was a keenly fought battle, with the Pirates perhaps not making best use of the wind at their backs and guilty of over-kicking on several occasions.

Munster were aggressive, both in defence and attack, where out half Scott Deasy was clever in his use of possession, although they were still unable to create any clear-cut opportunities. That was until Deasy's 35 th minute break, courtesy of the initial surge from Stephen Archer, and the out half opened up the Cornish defence. Rhodri McAtee's quick thinking saved the day when he got between Deasy and a scoring pass to Paddy Butler.

The opening points finally came after 39 minutes when Cook knocked over his second penalty attempt from close range.

Eight minutes into the second half, Munster came agonisingly close to grabbing the opening try, Deasy's dink fastened onto by JJ Hanrahan who was barely closed down as he raced clear. To make it worse, Deasy sent a resultant penalty to the right and wide.

Still, Munster cranked up the pressure and they were rewarded with a 54 th minute penalty that Deasy kicked from right in front of the posts as the Pirates strayed offside and substitute Blair Crowan was shown yellow.

Further pressure deservedly yielded another score, with Deasy again kicking the points from an easy angle and short distance for a 6-3 lead. It was no less than Munster deserved and they kept on searching for the elusive try, Billy Holland's pass inside to Ronan O'Mahony going astray with a try looking certain in the 66 th minute.

Sadly for them, it all fell apart in those closing seconds.

MUNSTER:

L O'Dea, R O'Mahony, T Gleeson, JJ Hanrahan, S Zebo, S Deasy, P Stringer, D Kilcoyne, S Henry, S Archer, M O'Driscoll, I Nagle, B Holland (captain), P Butler, T O'Donnell.
Replacements. D Casey for Henry (injured, 28), C Hircock for O'Dea (injured, 40), D Williams for Stringer (56), D Foley for Nagle (62). Temporary, C Condon for Kilcoyne (injured, 67-72)

CORNISH PIRATES.

M Evans, R McAtee, D Locke, S Hill, D Doherty, R Cook, T Kessell, R Storer, D Ward, C Rimmer, L McGlone, I Nimmo, C Moran (captain), K Marriott, C Walker-Blair.
Replacements. B Cowan for Walker-Blair (50), P Andrew for Storer (63), P. Burgess for Marriott (68).
Referee. I Tempest (England)

March to the Arch 3: Hatters beat the Cobblers - it's true

2011-11-12T20:43:00.002Z

Going into 1st Round of the Budweiser sponsored F.A.Cup, Luton Town carried the hopes of Sports Pulse in March to the Arch 3. In what we have named the Monty Panesar Trophy, The Hatters overcame Northampton Town. We have questions from our overseas followers to explain, the Monty Panesar Trophy. Well Monty is an international cricketer, he played for Northamptonshire and is from Luton – there done. Match report, with thanks, from ESPN Soccernet.

Luton Town 1 Northampton Town 0

Luton substitute Adam Watkins was the star of the show as he scored five minutes after coming on to send the Blue Square Bet Premier side through to the FA Cup second round 1-0 at the expense of Northampton.

League Two Northampton were left to rue a number of early second-half misses as Luton squeezed through to the next round by the narrowest of margins.

This feisty derby had everything apart from goals in the first-half with two Luton penalty claims turned down and a disallowed goal for the visitors.

Luton skipper George Pilkington was guilty of wasting the best chance when he somehow headed Ashley Westwood's free-kick wide from six yards.

The Hatters' first penalty shout came after 10 minutes when Michael Jacobs left a leg dangling, while 20 minutes later referee Andy D'Urso also turned down a shove on Amari Morgan-Smith.

Northampton responded and Adebayo Akinfenwa might have opened the scoring in the 20th minutes, but his header was brilliantly saved by Kevin Pilkington.
The Cobblers' on-loan West Brom star Saido Berahino swept home only for the strike to be ruled out for offside.

After 64 minutes the lively Berahino showed his class for Luton, turning sharply before bringing a great reaction save out of Sam Walker with a delightful chip.
Northampton's John Kissock then somehow headed over from a corner unmarked six-yards out.

The Hatters were sensing their chance and began to build the pressure at the other end.

And with 10 minutes to play it was a half-chance taken with aplomb that won the tie for Luton.

Watkins reacted to a loose ball and buried a ferocious left footed effort low into the corner from the edge of the box.

Northampton rallied bravely and still managed to carve out a few chances in the closing minutes, Michael Jacob's and Akinfenwa coming close but it proved to be in vain.

Paul 'Cloughie' Clarks Man of the Match - Andy D'Urso

Big Puck reports: CUP CAMPAIGN BEGINS WITH DEFEAT

2011-11-10T09:25:00.001Z

Thanks to Pete and the team at Chelmsford for the report.

It was a disappointing start to the South East Cup campaign for the Chieftains against a resurgent Invicta Dynamos on Sunday night. Slipping to a 2-0 deficit before the end of the first period, the Chieftains were always up against it and despite some valiant efforts from the players, they were unable to break down Andy Moffat in the Dynamos net who was playing one of the games of his life.

Andy Smith and Ryan Ellis combined in the first period with both getting on the scoresheet, thanks to an assist from the other. A quiet second period saw the scores remain the same, despite some scares at both ends. The game also had it's fair share of flare-ups, but no gloves were dropped though and the officials just about kept a lid on things. The Chieftains were taking control of the game now and managed to pepper Moffat's goal with 20 shots in the second session, to only 9 on Ben Clements at the other end.

Into the third and the Chieftains stamped their authority on the game and a Danny Hammond goal at 50:38 on the powerplay gave the travelling fans hope that something could be gained from this match, but less than 2 minutes later Justin Noble restored the home sides 2 goal advantage. Back came the Chieftains though and Dwayne Newman scored again with only 4 seconds left, but needless to say it was to no avail and the side ended up losing 3-2.

James Ayling took home the man of the match beers, while former Chieftain Moffat took the award for the home side.

Player-coach Gary Clarke said after the game "It's disappointing, especially after last weeks win over Romford, to lose to Invicta. We worked hard and were always in the game, but things just didn't go our way and we didn't get the bounce at times and ultimately we were to lose out. We'll go back in training and try and work on some things which I felt we struggled with tonight and things that didn't go according to plan and we'll bounce back. There's enough character in the side to do so and I'm confident when we go to Cardiff on Saturday and Wightlink come and visit on Sunday we'll be ready for them".

Back in Essex it was a goal fest as the second string Warriors ran out 10-7 winners over a lacklustre Swindon ENL Wildcats. Cameron Bartlett notched 4 goals, while Richie Whiting ran in 3 with single markers coming from Gary Brown, Reece Covington and Paul Merchant. Bartlett also won man of the match for his 4 goal haul.

WSN Basketball: Wasps burnt by the Blaze

2011-11-10T09:16:00.002Z

Thanks to the guys at the Wasps for the update.

Hull Wasps 64 Burnley Blaze 85

Hull Wasps went down 85-64 to league title favourites Burnley Blaze at the Bonus Arena on Saturday evening. In an early evening game, the Wasps fell behind early on and were always playing catch up within the game. In the end, Malcolm Leak's youthful side took control of the game and went away from the Bonus Arena with the 2 points.

"Burnley are a quality side. We've always known that" said Wasps player-coach Matt Fawcett after the game.

"We've worked hard this week knowing of the challenge we had but we fell short. At points in the game we brought ourselves back into it. We're a skilful team but found it hard to match their fitness and we were punished in the end because of that.

"We'll bounce back again and continue to push for the play-offs. We have the quality in this side and we'll work even harder to try and achieve our goals this season."

John Brignell top-scored for the Wasps with 19 points, Adrian Blatherwick came second with 11.

Sol y Futbol: Lanzarote 4 points of play-off place

2011-11-10T09:07:00.003Z

Ian Lane reports from Arrecife as Lanzarote win two on the bounce. The Rojillos are heading back to towards the play-off places.

LANZAROTE 1 LAS ZOCAS 0

Six points out of six for the Rojillos pushes them back up to mid table and only four points off the play off places following a second half penalty converted by sub Ayoze Pérez.

Prior to the match the Lanzarote squad had been pushed to its bare minimum. With only 18 registered first team players and with three out due to suspension as well as Toñito being disciplined by the club for doing a Tevez the week before and another two players injured, the Rojillos were forced to draft in regional and junior players. The makeshift team produced a solid display and deservedly claimed all three points.

The Rojillos began the match positively controlling possession and looking to break down the five man Tenerife defence. Rosmen forced Las Zocas goalkeeper into a good save in the 11th minute but even with the lion’s share of possession the Conejeros failed as they have done all season to turn their domination into goals.
The visitors slowly began to enter into the game and in the 37th minute striker Kike tried his luck from 25 yards with a wonder strike, the ball seemed destined for the top left hand corner as soon as it left his boot but the 39 year old Lanzarote keeper Santi Lampón produced an amazing finger tip save at full stretch which pushed the ball onto the bar and away for a corner. The first half ended as stalemate with the Rojillos just edging the match.

Las Zocas began the second half the much better of the two sides and had two clear opportunities to take the lead within the opening five minutes. Midfielder Manu had a clear strike at goal in the second minute but saw his effort fly straight into the body of the Lanzarote keeper. Two minutes later and the same player delivered a fine cross from the right to the far post and Cristo Marrero´s header flew off the top of the crossbar and away for a goal kick.

After these opening second half minute scares the Rojillos restored their control of the match and with the introduction of the talented Ayoze Pérez were looking the most likely to open the scoring. In the 64th minute Lanzarote striker Echedey was clearly brought down and the Ref did not hesitate in ordering for a spot kick. Ayoze who had only been on the park two minutes stepped up and sent the keeper the wrong way by firing low into the bottom left hand corner giving his side a 1-0 lead.

The balance of play did not alter after the goal as the Rojillos remained in charge. It was only in the final minutes when Las Zocas went in search of a leveller but were met by a stubborn and well organised Rojillo defence that kept their visitors at bay.

Next week Lanzarote travel to Tenerife to take on fifth from bottom side Club Atlético Victoria.

GOALS
1-0 min 65 Ayoze Pérez (penalty)

Becks, Keano and the Galaxy into MLS Final

2011-11-07T15:38:00.004Z

Thank you to our friends at CNN for providing the report and picture. Beck, Keano the Galaxy and his wife now face Houston in the MLS Championship final. Will NASA sponsor the game?

Los Angeles Galaxy reached Major League Soccer's (MLS) championship match on Sunday after a 3-1 defeat of Real Salt Lake in the Western Conference final.

The Galaxy, two-time MLS Cup winners, reached the deciding game for a record seventh time thanks to goals from captain Landon Donovan, American Mike Magee and Ireland striker Robbie Keane in front of their home fans at the Home Depot Center.

Manager Bruce Arena's Galaxy will face Houston Dynamo in the post-season's final match, after Dynamo beat Sporting Kansas City in the Eastern Conference final.

The final, which will take place at the Home Depot Center, could be midfielder David Beckham's last match for Los Angeles, with the former England captain's contract expiring at the end of the season.

But Beckham, 36, is focused only on the upcoming match with Dynamo, after playing in the MLS Cup 2009 when the Galaxy were beaten by Real Salt Lake in a penalty shoot-out.

We know that there is one more game to go so we're not getting carried away

David Beckham"We're happy to be winning the Western final, but we know that there is one more game to go so we're not getting carried away," the former Real Madrid and Manchester United star told the league's official website.

"We did that a couple of years ago and we paid for it. We didn't win the MLS Cup final, so hopefully this will be something that we're happy to win [on Sunday], but we know that we've got one more game."

David Beckham Galaxy went ahead on 23 minutes when Donovan, 29, converted a penalty after Andy Williams' push on Omar Gonzalez.

Dynamo responded almost immediately, striker Alvaro Saborio scoring with a close-range header to equalize after 25 minutes.

Beckham, capped 115 times by England, helped Galaxy regain the lead on 58 minutes, his pin-point cross headed home by Magee.

Former Tottenham and Liverpool forward Keane secured the win for Galaxy with 22 minutes remaining, wriggling free of his marker before firing a low shot beyond Salt Lake goalkeeper Nick Rimandi.

Dynamo needed second half goals from defender Andre Hainault and forward Carlos Costly to see off the challenge of Sporting Kansas City in front of a record crowd at Livestrong Sporting Park.

The 16th MLS Cup final will complete the 2011 season and will be played on Sunday November 20.

World in Union: Review of Aviva Premiership Round 8

2011-11-07T15:22:00.003Z

With thanks to our friends at Aviva, for supplying details of Round 8. Aviva, insurance providers for a wide range of cover. Contact them direct for the best prices in insurance. Aviva, not available on comparison websites.

ROUND 8

Harlequins maintained a 100% record in Aviva Premiership Rugby to take them into European competition in top form and sitting pretty at the top of the table. Saracens continue to apply the pressure in second place, while Gloucester and Irish have both moved up the table after impressive displays away from home.

Full highlights of every Aviva Premiership Rugby game are now available free through Premiership Rugby TV from 36 hours after the final whistle. Register now and you can watch every game as it becomes available. (Highlights are available exclusively to premium site users for the first 36 hours after each match, after which time they become free to all registered users).
On Friday night Newcastle Falcons snatched a dramatic draw in their Aviva Premiership Rugby battle with Worcester Warriors at Kingston Park. The Falcons were trailing 16-9 with three minutes to go and looking to have been defeated by the Warriors when suddenly the Newcastle pack found another gear and drove Mike Mayhew over for a try which Jimmy Gopperth converted to level the score. Final score: Newcastle Falcons 16, Worcester Warriros 16.

On Saturday Harlequins maintained their winning ways as tries from Chris Robshaw and Mike Brown helped them to victory at Bath’s Recreation Ground. The league leaders, who now have a 100% record after eight games, made a slow start but eventually assumed control of the contest as they gained the upper-hand at the scrum, line-out and breakdown. Final score: Bath Rugby 13, Harlequins 26.

Over at Sandy Park, Gloucester Rugby claimed their first away win since February after running in three tries over Exeter Chiefs. Fly-half Freddie Burns grabbed an early try and kicked nine more points, while Akapusi Qera and Olly Morgan also crossed the try-line for the visitors. Despite scoring tries through Hoani Tui and Matt Jess it wasn’t to be Exeter’s match. Final score: Exeter Chiefs 19, Gloucester Rugby 24.

At Welford Road, London Irish produced a stunning fightback to grab a dramatic draw against Leicester Tigers. From a seemingly hopeless position at 24-7 inside the final 20 minutes, the Exiles dug deep to claw back the deficit. Tries came from Horacio Agulla for the Tigers and Shontayne Hape, Adam Thompstone and Matt Garvey. Final score: Leicester Tigers 24, London Irish 24.

On Sunday at Adams Park prop forwards Soane Tong’uiha and Brian Mujati scored the tries which powered Northampton Saints to their fifth successive victory at Wasps. England centre Riki Flutey and lock Ross Filipo scored for the hosts, but with fly half Ryan Lamb kicking 14 points for Saints it was the visitors who stretched their recent run to three wins in Aviva Premiership Rugby. Final score: London Wasps 13, Northampton Saints 24.

At Vicarage Road Saracens kept up the pressure on Aviva Premiership Rugby table-toppers Harlequins with a comfortable win at home to Sale Sharks. David Strettle and Matt Stevens chalked up two converted tries for the hosts while Owen Farrell kicked three penalties on top. Sale scored two second half tries courtesy of Rob Miller and Mark Easter but the match always belonged to the home side. Final score: Saracens 23, Sale Sharks 10.

Sol y Futbol: At last a win for Lanzarote

2011-11-06T20:56:00.003Z

Ian sent us this report on the midweek game, we will receive the report from today’s game at some point tomorrow. So a double helping of Sol y Futbol.

C.D. CHARCO DEL PINO 0 LANZAROTE 2

A goal in each half was enough to see the Rojillos claim their first away victory of the season albeit against the league’s bottom club Lanzarote dominated the majority of the match but the Tenerife side almost took the lead in the 10th minute. A corner was met by defender Airám whose header was goal bound until Rojillos midfielder Sixto cleared the danger on the goal line.

Lanzarote then began to pile on the pressure; striker Rosmen forced a good save from the keeper then in the 35th minute the Rojillos found a way through. Echedey passed a short corner kick to Ángel Gil, the defender curled in a cross into the six yard area which was met by centre back Carlos Rosa who stroked the ball home via a deflection off a defender giving his side a 0-1 advantage.

In their last two matches the Rojillos have taken the lead only to lose on both occasions so the Lanzarote manager Fabián Rivero, was still unable to breathe a sigh of relief. Lanzarote pressed for the remainder of the first half but could not find the second goal cushion. The teams headed into the interval with Lanzarote just a single goal to the good.

Ten minutes into the second half and Rosmen struck a post with an effort. The Lanzarote striker broke his goal scoring drought a few days earlier but the jinx seems to continue as last season’s leading goal scorer hit the woodwork for the umpteenth time in this campaign.

Nevertheless, the Rojillos dominated as the visitors posed little threat but the game was only put to bed in the second minute of stoppage time. The Rojillos broke from a Charco del Pino attack and striker Alex Yunes tucked the ball away to guarantee all three points making the final score 0-2.

A welcome victory for the Rojillos but again the problem of not finishing off their chances was evident. Centre forward Alex Yunes is now the clubs top scorer this season with just three goals following his injury time strike. The two top clubs in the league have both scored more than double what the Rojillos have managed though defensively only two other teams have a better record than the Lanzarote.

This Sunday Lanzarote are at home with a 12 noon kick off against Las Zocas. The Tenerife side are in 8th place, three points above the Rojillos.

GOALS
0-1min 35 Carlos Rosa
0-2min 92 Alex Yunes

Kult & Punk: St Pauli top of the table score draw

2011-11-06T20:49:00.002Z

The boys were still recovering from the previous weekend to really notice this game. A score draw was probably a fair result. All the talk was about last weekends set by the Black Finger Nails. Will the boys be on the case?

FC St. Pauli 2-2 Greuther Fürth

Just like their league positions there wasn't much between St. Pauli and Greuther Fürth as they shared the spoils thanks to a last-gasp equalizer from Olivier Occean. Christopher Nöthe's opened the scoring with a toe-poke, goals from second half substitutes Dennis Daube and Mahir Saglik pulled Pauli back into it, but Occean's eighth goal of the season rescued a point for Fürth who had a man sent off late on.

The importance of the match was only proven by the edgy start both teams endured with neither side able to find an early rhythm in the encounter. Sercan Serarer found space early on to force a fine save out of Philipp Tschauner with the keeper clawing the ball out of the top corner. The intensity in the match led to constant fouling, which limited the goal scoring opportunities at either end. Dennis Naki was proving to be Pauli's biggest threat up front, but six yards out, couldn't find the target from Fin Bartel's cross.

Action aplenty

Markus Thorandt followed suit soon after, but it was Fürth's efficiency that told once again just before half-time. Heinrich Schmidtgal picked out an inch-perfect pass for Nöthe to run onto and, through on goal, the striker made no mistake toe-poking the ball under Tschauner and into the bottom corner (44'). The hosts stepped it up in the second half and found a way through soon after the restart. A flowing move in transition saw Fabian Boll play in Daube, who had come on at the break, and the midfielder kept his composure to slip the ball under Max Grün (54').

With the wind in Pauli's sails Naki's snapshot kept Grün on his toes, but it was his replacement, super-sub Saglik who gave Pauli the lead when Thomas Kleine committed himself to ground allowing the striker to cut inside and find the far corner (75'). Fürth were reduced to ten men late on when Milorad Pekovic picked up a second bookable offence for catching Saglik late (81'). Bernd Nehrig hit the post with a cross-cum-shot, but Fürth snatched a point when Teyfun Pektürk broke down the right to ping the ball into the box where Occean got the final touch to level things up at the death (90').

We will remember them.

2011-11-06T20:39:00.001Z

As we approach this weekend, as always, our title heading for the blog will revert to black. To honour those, who have lost their lives serving for their country. Men and Women who have paid the ultimate price and who showed remarkable courage and bravery in and beyond their call of duty.

We will remember them.

We will also black the heading for those who lost their lives and were injured in the horrific crash on the M5 this weekend. Our thoughts and prayers are with the injured and the family and friends of all those involved. We would also like to mention the emergency services, who once again displayed fantastic professionalism and courage and to those involved who showed extreme bravery.

Many of us will have lost people throughout the year, so the blackened heading is also in memory of them.

For those of you wanting different type of poppies, please visit the website www.poppy.org.uk

Gwrys Yn Kernow: Pirates are top after Titanic victory

2011-11-06T20:13:00.002Z

Match report taking in full and with thanks from www.cornish-pirates.com. Match report supplied by Woll and picture by Simon Bryant.

Sports:Pulse will pay tribute to those who have lost their lives serving their country through the week, as we approach Remembrance Sunday. We would like to add to the many who have offered their thoughts and prayers, to those who died and were injured and their family and friends, on the horrific crash on the M5 on Friday evening.

Cornish Pirates 30 Rotherham Titans 13

RFU Championship Round 10

Sunday 6th November

Woll's Match Report

The cloudless skies and perfect late autumn weather, proved the ideal foil for the performance of the season so far by the Pirates; whose efforts justly earned them the right to end the day sitting at the top of the Championship pile. Few in attendance would have confidently predicted such as they silently paid tribute in Remembrance and so many other recent sadness.

It was an incisive showing which combined pace and control; particularly in the first half, that punished a Titans side who’s form coming into this match threatened an awful lot more.

Their coach Andre Bester had played down Rotherham’s renaissance perhaps a little too queasily in the lead up to the clash; preferring instead to compare the hosts with something called the X Factor. And yet the blood-curdling close season culling had clearly done some good, otherwise, how would the men from Clifton Lane be seriously looking at returning oop north as league leaders themselves?
After a promising opening 5-10 minutes for the Titans that didn’t really threaten much, it was the Pirates who seized the initiative thinking that Pointer had done the business over in the Nursery Corner. A forward pass by Locke erasing that particular celebration but not for long.

Two tries in the opening half hour from the eventual man of the match Doherty, had Dickinson and his cohorts coming up for air way too soon; and provided the lynch pin for what was to unfold. Their huge pack regretted no doubt the early ambition to try and run the ball out of their own 22 on both occasions, in the face of some aggressive Cornish tackling, intent on doing their defending on Titans soil.
Jonny Bentley’s involvement in all things attacking; particularly for the first try and his so subtle grubber in the Old Western National Corner; is worthy of a mention in dispatches and an article in its own right. Not that Thomas’s response after his introduction in the second half, was any less notable. The luxury of having such two fine stand-offs is mouth-watering as they and their team mates look to be straining at the leashes.

A trademark sniping try by Cattle provided the filling of the flying winger’s sandwiching brace; whilst Cook and Law traded goals to complete the scoring as Mr Gamage appeared to be gasping for his half time refreshment, whistling as he did pretty sharpish with clock still ticking through the seconds of the final minute of the half. (20-6)
Amply re-hydrated,
the officials and combatants returned to the fray as the conditions continued to add to the relaxed feeling in the stands. A feeling that roused the crowd like not before this season, as the Pirates continued where they left off at the start of the second period.

This early endeavour however produced no further points despite further pace and power, a point not lost on the visitors who carved an opportunity of their own to get right back into the game with half an hour remaining.

A huge penalty touch finder by Law, created the platform. From which Taulava swatted through some backs in Pirate colours after it seemed the threat had been doused. Law then added the extras to make it a seven point game.

Yorkshire hopes were not last as another near miss by Pointer signalled the writing was being scribbled on the wall by Ceiron who cultured right peg was causing all sorts of problems.

One such befell Foden, as the full back was caught all at sea by the bounce just inside his own 22. The Welsh fly half then played further part in this latest ‘nail’, with a delicious miss-pass to Locke who was flying down the left wing at exactly the right time. Drewe had little option then but to finish his run under the posts and all but seal the Titan’s fate as the final quarter hove onto the horizon.

A solitary Cook penalty with ten minutes left did the rest, to pack the league leaders off on to their travels for the next three weeks. Rotherham meanwhile perhaps pondered a final restful few minutes on the Promenade wall, before boarding their coach and the long journey back to lick their wounds.

Cornish Pirates
15 R. Cook 14 G. Pointer (22 R McAtee 64mins) 13 D. Locke 12 A. Suniula (18 P. Burgess 74 mins) 11 D. Doherty 10 J. Bentley (21 C. Thomas 56mins) 9 G. Cattle (capt) (20 T. Kessell 74 mins) 8 B. Maidment (19 B. Cowan 78mins) 7 C. Morgan 6 D. Ewers 5 I. Nimmo 4 L. McGlone 3 C. Rimmer (L. Fairbrother 56mins) 2 D. Ward (17 R. Elloway 67mins) 1 R. Storer (3 C. Rimmer 74 mins)
Replacements: all used
Tries: Doherty 2, Cattle, Locke
Cons: Cook 2
Pens: Cook 2

Rotherham Titans
15 T. Foden 14 E. Tellwright 13 S. Hamilton (22 C. Hodgson 62 mins) 12 P. Nonu 11 S. Monahan 10 G. Law 9 M. Rhodes (21 J. Williams HT) 8 S. Taulava 7 S. Dougall 6 R. Copeland 5 B. Maddison (19 A. Griffiths 44mins) 4 S. Dickinson (capt) 3 R. O'Donnell 2 D. Baines 1 S. Cahill (17 J. Kilbane HT)

Replacements: un-used 16 T. Stagg, 18 R. Stout, 20 C. Kirwan
Tries: Taulava
Cons: Law
Pens: Law 2

Match Officials
Referee: Darren Gamage (RFU
Assistants: Paul Kimber & Richard Parker-Sedgemore
Man of the Match: David Doherty
Attendance: 2506

Let us introduce: Access Sport

2011-11-02T10:30:00.002Z

As you know last month we started our Let Us Introduce feature. Let us introduce highlights the work of charities and community projects helping society through sport. Our own strap line ‘Sport Inspires – be part of it’, although directed at our corporate partners, points to our belief of the importance in providing sporting facilities and opportunity to all. Sport brings structure and pride to the younger members of a community. These projects are important and the threat to their existence is wrong. It is cheaper to fund projects, similar to the ones below, than to pay for the consequences of our youth drifting into crime and drugs. It is cheaper to fund these projects to improve health than to treat illness resulting in lack of exercise.

Let us introduce Access Sport

Founded in 2004 Access Sport is a dynamic charity whose mission is to give more children, particularly in disadvantaged areas, access to a wide range of quality local sport. We look to harness the proven power of sport to tackle social exclusion, inactivity and obesity in areas where help is most needed. We achieve this through empowering the inspirational community volunteers who set up and run local sports clubs with cash, expert advice and networking to help create thriving clubs which get more people positively engaged.

Access Sport began it’s first club partnership in 2005. By January 2007 Access Sport had 31 clubs and had attracted 650 new young participants and by the end of 2009 we had achieved:

• 115 partner clubs across 21 sports

• 16,000 children with improved access to sport

o 3,300 new children participating regularly at clubs

o 7,000 children at SportsJAMs

o 5,340 children already at clubs improved by Access Sport

• 1,000 at new club-school sessions

• 20,000 people attending 7 SportsJAMs

• 400 new coaching qualifications paid for

• 150,000 people with raised awareness of local sports opportunities

Our current Legacy Programme aims to have achieved the following by 2013:

• Provision of a tangible, lasting legacy in the Olympic Host Boroughs of East London (Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest, Greenwich) and Bristol.

• Development of 75 clubs

o 50 London clubs

o 25 Bristol Clubs

• 9,000 new you people engaged in regular sports club participation

• 450 newly qualified coaches

• 450 new club volunteers

• Increased youth development opportunities through our Youth Development Legacy Project

• Increased disability provision at our clubs through our Disability Legacy Project

• Delivery of 5 new BMX tracks and clubs in each of the Olympic boroughs through our BMX Legacy Project

• Increased regular female sports participation through our Active Women project

Realising the potential of community sports clubs

• We focus our financial support and advice on boosting the youth sections of community sport clubs in the UK’s most deprived areas.

• We work with inspirational club leaders who believe in the power of sport to
help transform young lives but who lack the support to make the most of their clubs.

• Community sports clubs provide a vehicle for regular and sustained participation with built-in pathways for progression.

• Linking clubs effectively into NGB and local authority support networks and developing club-school links is crucial.
Our model for community sports club development

• We focus on three key 'pillars' of club development: Growth, Sustainability and Youth Development

• Access Sport’s local project manager draws on local knowledge and face to face meetings to select the right clubs and, crucially, the right club leaders who have the motivation and potential to grow the youth sections of their clubs.

• Each club then works face to face with our project manager to create a bespoke development plan over two years. Utilising £4,000 each club increases participation, reaches out to local kids, families and schools, increases capacity by creating new coaches and volunteers.

• Our projects address the key barriers to participation by subsidising participation fees, providing free equipment, raising awareness of local sports opportunities, linking the club to local initiatives and to the NGBs and Sport England for long term support.

• Particular focus is on bringing through local youngsters to give them the opportunity to learn coaching, life and management skills which improve their employability.

• Our work across a range of sports creates a new generation of community serving, youth focused clubs, giving genuine choice in deprived areas where access to opportunities in general, and to sport in particular, is poor.

• Good community clubs create the bridge into both regular year-round and adult participation which a pure schools led approach cannot achieve. Clubs also reach out to those who may be alienated from the school system.

• In many cases we have helped clubs to double participation and more.

Our Projects

Our current Legacy Programme is to develop 75 clubs (50 in London and 25 in Bristol) by 2013 creating a successful and transferrable 'blueprint' for club development in deprived urban areas. Our Legacy Programme aims to engage 9,000 new young people regularly in club sport and qualify 450 new coaches and 450 new volunteers and includes the following projects:

• Active Women Project (in partnership with Sport England): aiming to increase female participation in community sports.

• Disability Legacy Project (in partnership with The Peter Harrison Foundation): aiming to increase clubs provisions to attract more disabled members.

• Youth Development Legacy Project (in partnership with Comic Relief): aiming to help young people develop and gain key life and employability skills through their community sports club.

• BMX Legacy Project (in partnership with local boroughs): aiming to create a fully equipped BMX club and track in each of the five London Olympic boroughs.

• Business Mentoring Project: aiming to enhance club development, impact and sustainability through matching teams of corporate mentors with community sports clubs.

To find out more about Access Sport and to donate visit their website www.accesssport.org.uk

WSN Basketball: Wasps slay the Dragons.

2011-11-02T09:55:00.002Z

Thanks to Dave Bushall and all at the Wasps for this report.

Bradford Dragons II 81 Hull Wasps 85

Hull Wasps travelled to Bradford Dragons II on Saturday afternoon and came away with all 2 points with a tense finish to the game.

The Wasps made a better start to the game than they have done in recent weeks and took an early 17-14 lead to close the first quarter.

The home side came out after the break though and got the better of the visiting Wasps in the second-period, taking a 1 point lead at half-time, 40-39.
The Wasps just edged the third period and took a 62-61 lead going into the final-quarter.

It always looked as though it was going to be close conclusion with only a small margin to win it, and so it proved. The visiting Wasps were up by 1 with just seconds remaining in the game. Bradford came forward but missed their opportunity to take the lead by turning over possession to the Wasps, only for player-coach Matt Fawcett to score a long-range 3-point buzzer beater to give the Wasps a 4 point win.

Following the game, coach Fawcett said: "It was a tough win for the guys today. Those games are tricky and in previous seasons, we've more often been on the losing end of those. It was good to get the win and we'll keep looking to build on this.
We have Burnley at home next weekend and that will be our toughest test so far. For me, Burnley are probably the favourites for the league title this year so we have to go away and work even harder before next week."

John Brignell top-scored for the Wasps once again with 26 points. Adrian Blatherwick scored 20.

Big Puck reports: Pitbulls tamed and Raiders beaten

2011-11-02T09:45:00.003Z

Big Puck reports on Chelmsford Chieftains, Essex premier Ice Hockey' team, successful weekend. With thanks to Pete Lewis and all at the Chieftains.

It had to happen sooner or later and on Sunday night at the Riverside it did! Romford Raiders were on an amazing run of 14 wins, including the only defeat of the Chieftains this season, but that all came crashing down at the hands of Gary Clarke and his men. Chelmsford put themselves 2 up inside 7 minutes through Danny Hammond and Clarke. Hammond's goal was the end product of a great display of puck control from Ross Brears who ended up feeding Hammond to slot home past Michael Gray. Clarke then took advantage of a defensive lapse to double the Chieftains advantage. Romford showed why they are the Chieftains's biggest challengers moments later when former Chelmsford star Matt Turner scored past Chelmsford man of the match David Wride. That was it for scoring until 33:31 when Romford player/coach Danny Marshall netted to tie the game up and put the 1000+ crowd on the edge of their seats. Less than 4 minutes later though Clarke had made it 3-2 after goalmouth scramble that saw Andrius Kaminskas of Romford leave the ice injured.

Into the third and things began to heat up quickly as Romford seemed to be more intent on playing a physical game rather than trying to win the encounter and the Chieftains took advantage as Clarke completed his hat-trick with a blast from the blue-line when the home side were on the powerplay. With just under 10minutes to play Romford bad boy Billy Phillips was called for a 2 minute cross-checking minor penalty, but ended up talking himself into a 10 minute misconduct and a further game misconduct that would see him take no further part in the game.

While this was going on in Essex, the Chelmsford second side Warriors were in Kent taking on Invicta Mustangs and they narrowly lost 4-3 with the Warriors goals coming from Richard Whiting, Ricky Mills and Paul Merchant.

Saturday night saw the Chieftains complete a routine win in Bristol as they tamed the Pitbulls with a convincing 8-2 result. Tom Long set the ball rolling, quickly followed up by Alan Green netting and Dwayne Newman scored late on in the period to put the visitors 3-2 up after one period. 3 goals in the second period from Jakub Klima times 2 and Clarke had the Essex side 6-2 ahead and looking convincing. With the game over as a contest it was left to Hammond and Long to round out the scoring and for Long to pick up the man of the match award.

Bench coach Sean Easton said of the results "They speak for themselves really. We're sitting top of the table and all the talk back from Bristol was about the Romford game and how we would be able to beat them. We knew we couldn't rise to the intimidation games they were playing and we did that well and kept our heads and won the game. We're top of the league and points clear and it's up to us to maintain our place".

Next Games

Chieftains

AWAY: Sunday 6th November @ Invicta Dynamos 17:30 (South East Cup)
HOME: Sunday 13th November V Wightlink Raiders 18:30

WARRIORS

HOME: Sunday 6th November V Swindon ENL Wildcats 18:30

Rugby League welcome back London Broncos

2011-11-02T09:34:00.003Z

As you know Harlequins RL have rebranded and returned to being known as the London Bronco’s. Below is the official statement and a brief history of the nomadic club. Come on London, follow rugby league in the summer. If you can’t make it West, follow the superb London Skolers in Tottenham or Hainault Bulldogs in Dagenham. This post was taking in full and with thanks from www.londonbroncosrl.com.

The rebranded Bronco’s

Following extensive research with input and assistance from our army of loyal fans and supporters we have today announced that we are changing our name and rebranding the club back to be London Broncos Rugby League.

For those of you unfamiliar with our chequered history here is a brief recap. The London-based rugby league team originally became known as the Broncos when the Australian club, the Brisbane Broncos, took over the then Second Division side, London Crusaders in 1994. In 1996 the Broncos were included in the newly formed Super League and went to play in south east London at The Valley, home of Charlton Athletic. After a season they moved to The Stoop and in 1997 the Virgin Group became the majority shareholder. In 1999 the London Broncos played in the last ever Challenge Cup final at the old Wembley Stadium and subsequently returned to The Valley with current Chairman David Hughes purchasing a majority shareholding. By 2002 they had moved back to west London to play at Brentford's Griffin Park and three years later a re-structuring of the club saw them become Harlequins RL with The Stoop once again as their home.

Chairman David Hughes commented: "I am delighted that we are returning to be the London Broncos. It is a name that resonates with success on the pitch and that is what we want to achieve next season.

"I have committed to the club definitely for the next three years during this Super League license period and we will work hard to retain that in three years' time and become a club to be reckoned with both on and off the pitch."

The new brand uses elements of the original design, updating the model to reflect the contemporary and premium vision of the club. The home kit is predominantly black with a bright blue trim while the away kit reverses this design with a bright blue strip trimmed with black. The colour scheme is very striking so as to make an impression both on and off the pitch.

Gus Mackay, Chief Executive added: "It took a lot of work to get to where we are, but we are really happy with the results and are all excited about the future as London Broncos.

"We engaged with fans and stakeholders and included as many people as possible in the rebrand process so as to take on board everybody's views. The fans and players mostly pointed towards a return to the London Broncos and their ideas are reflected within the brand concept.
"We needed to make a change
to our name for various reasons. This relaunch provides us with a unique opportunity to target a new audience and raise awareness of our club as well as that of Super League in London. We are committed to making Super League a success story in London and this is a key part of that campaign.

"As a club we are committed to delivering a brand our fans are proud of both on and off the pitch and this rebrand is the start of that."

As you can see the rebrand is complemented by a brand new website, elements of which you see here. This will continue to develop over the coming months with new features and additions which will be fully built and implemented in time for the start of the 2012 season.

Alongside the website there are new Twitter and Facebook offerings to enable the club to engage more easily with its fans and supporters. So make sure you check us out by visiting: www.londonbroncosrl.com/facebook and following us on twitter @londonbroncosrl.

Rob Powell, London Broncos Rugby League Head Coach said: "Going back to being the London Broncos is a great move. The players and playing staff are all behind it and it's an opportunity for a new start for this club albeit under an old name.

"We have invested heavily in the team over the off-season and we are all really excited about pre-season and getting ready for next year."

Home matches will continue to be played at The Twickenham Stoop Stadium in the 2012 season with the exception of a couple of games which are scheduled to be played elsewhere in an effort to showcase the game to a wider audience. Negotiations are ongoing for a new three year agreement for all home matches to be played at The Stoop.

Boris Johnson, Mayor of London is equally delighted with the rename. He commented: "London is one of the world's greatest sporting cities and rugby league has an increasingly important role to play in helping to maintain this status.
"I am delighted to be working with the RFL on their community development programme in London, and I am equally pleased to see a team like the London Broncos reclaiming their original moniker and proudly displaying the London brand."

Vince Cable MP added: "As the Member of Parliament for Twickenham, it is always going to be a shame that we lose a name like Harlequins RL, but with this relaunch as London Broncos, we are gaining an iconic rugby brand that fans have been calling for. Combined with new signings, I look forward to seeing the London Broncos doing very well in Super League."

The charitable arm of the London based club will also be re-named in line with the new brand. The London Broncos Rugby League Foundation promotes sport and physical activity, healthy lifestyles and social inclusion programmes. Working across west London, east London and Surrey, in 2011 the Foundation engaged over 30,000 people through Rugby League, dance, education and leadership programmes as well as community events.

Sol y Futbol: UD Lanzarote fail to keep 11 on the pitch

2011-11-01T16:56:00.002Z

Ian reports from Arrecife. Lanzarote are more than real sporting, they ended the match with only 9 players on the pitch - now that is sporting. Rojillos - very apt.

LANZAROTE 1 REAL SPORTING SAN JOSÉ 2

The Rojillos were cruising following an early lead but having a player sent off in the 25th minute and ending the game with nine men allowed the Gran Canarian side to snatch maximum points.

The Conejeros (locals) began the game positively creating the best chances with the highlight being a shot from Javi Morales which hit the post.

The breakthrough came in the 8th minute. After 12 matches the Rojillos top scorer last season Rosmen finally opened up his account for this term. After receiving the ball on the left he beat his defender and with the keeper committed he neatly chipped the ball over his body into the left hand corner giving the Rojillos a 1-0 lead.

Lanzarote looked as though they could win this match comfortably but football has this knack of turning the tables upside down in an instant. In the 23rd minute a free kick from Vladi was met powerfully by Rosmen but somehow the keeper reacted brilliantly saving from three yards.

Two minutes later and Javi Morales reacted angrily to a challenge from a Real Sporting defender, the Ref deemed his reaction to be aggressive and with the help of his opponent rolling around the floor as though he had been punched down by a heavyweight Javi Morales was off and Lanzarote had to play the majority of the match with only 10 men as they did last week.

The visitors who have not won away this season or even scored a goal still played cautiously knowing they had plenty of time to get something out of the game. The Rojillos still looked the more dangerous of the two sides as they went into the half time break with their one goal lead.

The Rojillos were still showing their superiority in the opening stages of the second period. In the 54th minute Rosmen fed fellow striker Alex Yunes on the right, the Venezuelan unleashed a powerful strike which was well saved by the Sporting keeper Isaac.

Ten minutes on and Echedey released Rosmen, the tall centre forward fired in a wonder drive only to see his effort fly off the bar.

In the 72nd minute catastrophe caught hold once again. On a rare attack a shot for the Gran Canarian side hit the hand of Rojillos centre back Adrián Martín and not only did the Ref award a spot kick but he also showed a red card to the defender.

Striker Domingo made no mistake from the penalty by sending the Lanzarote keeper Santi Lampón the wrong way to level the scores at 1-1. Six minutes later and with the Rojillos defence stretched to the maximum with just their nine players left on the field, struggled with a cross from the right. The ball travelled to the far post and was met by the lonely figure of striker Ayoze who gratefully tucked the ball home giving his side an unlikely 1-2 advantage.
It would be a cruel person to deny the Rojillos players lacked passion. The nine men forced their opponents to defend and had two good opportunities to level the match. The tireless Jotha struck from the edge of the box only to see his effort inch past the upright and Yunes saw his strike saved.

The players from Sporting picked up a string of yellow cards for time wasting and fouls but still held firm and claimed their first away win of the season whilst the Rojillos suffered their first home loss.
On Tuesday Lanzarote travel to Tenerife to face bottom club CD Charco del Pino and Sunday the Rojillos are playing at home against ninth placed side Las Zocas.

GOALS
1-0min 8 Rosmen
1-1min 73 Domingo (penalty)
1-2min 79 Ayoze

We send Nicky Morgan our best wishes and support.

2011-11-01T16:44:00.006Z

SportTrades would like to wish Nicky Morgan and his family all the very best. Our thoughts are with you all at this time. We hope for a good outcome.

Nicky was attacked early Friday morning, outside the Sugar Hut, Brentwood. Any one who has information please contact Senior investigating officer Det Insp Jamie Gingell. If your reading this and you were involved in some way, hand yourself in immediately.

Nicky’s condition has slightly improved since the incident, with feelings returning in his toes and hands. He remains seriously ill and is still unable to move his legs. He underwent surgery yesterday to reduce the swelling on his spine and at present we have no further information.

Nicky is currently Goalkeeper for Billericay Town FC, all involved with the club have sent their regards and support. As have other clubs Nicky has played for, including Braintree Town, Bishop Stortford, Crawley Town and Southend United.

SportTrades know Nicky through his family involvement with local football. The son of a SportTrades Director, has played in the same team as some of Nicky’s brothers and on the odd occasion lined up with him.

We wish you well Nicky.

World in Union. Aviva Premiership review- Round 7

2011-11-01T16:22:00.001Z

Round 7 saw much needed wins for Leicester Tigers and Northampton Saints who welcomed back their world cup stars to the club fold. Meanwhile Harlequins continued in the same form that has seen them dominate the season so far, although they were given a stern test from Exeter Chiefs.

Highlights from all this weekend's games (and all archived footage from last season) will be free-to-view through Premiership Rugby TV - full details below, thanks to a brand new service brought to you by Aviva.
On Friday night at Edgeley Park Leicester Tigers claimed their second Aviva Premiership Rugby victory of the season. Wing Tom Brady’s first-half try helped the Sharks into a 13-3 interval lead but second-half scores from an inspired Alesana Tuilagi, as well as Martin Castrogiovanni, Toby Flood and Marcos Ayerza completed a stunning turnaround for the Tigers. Final score: Sale Sharks 13, Leicester Tigers 34.

Over at Sixways on Friday night Richard Birkett scored a thrilling last-minute try for London Wasps to snatch victory against home side Worcester Warriors. The game was largely dominated by kicking with Worcester replacement Joe Carlisle looking to have won the game for the Warriors with three second-half penalties. However, two-minutes from time the visitors pounced and Birkett crashed over for a try. Final score: Worcester Warriors 12, London Wasps 14.

On Saturday at the Madejski Stadium in-form Irish had gone into the match looking for a fifth win in six Aviva Premiership Rugby outings, but it was the visitors Bath Rugby who left with the spoils after a nail-biting encounter. Tries came from Sam Vesty and Dave Attwood for Bath and it was Vesty’s penalty in the closing minutes that sealed the victory. Final score: London Irish 12, Bath Rugby 13.

Harlequins reinforced their position top of the Aviva Premiership Rugby table on Saturday when they beat Exeter Chiefs at The Stoop. The victory extends Quins run to nine straight wins in all competitions but it was their toughest test of the season to date. Tries came from Mike Brown for Quins and Bryan Rennie for the Chiefs, while Nick Evans slotted over four penalties and a conversion for Harlequins with Ignacio Mieres kicking two penalties and a conversion for the visitors. Final score: Harlequins 19, Exeter Chiefs 13.

Over at Franklin’s Gardens on Saturday Northampton Saints scored six tries to claim a comprehensive victory over Newcastle Falcons. England winger Chris Ashton scored two tries, Tom May also crossed twice, his first two tries for the club coming against his old side, and Russian winger Vasily Artemyev added two more to take his tally to an impressive six tries in three matches since arriving at Northampton following the World Cup. Newcastle’s only reply was through the reliable boot of Jimmy Gopperth kicking four penalties and a drop goal. Final score: Northampton Saints 44, Newcastle Falcons 15.

A late try by centre Brad Barritt and an Owen Farrell conversion gave reigning champions Saracens a last-gasp Aviva Premiership Rugby victory to end Gloucester’s 22-match winning run at Kingsholm on Saturday. Olly Morgan scored a try for Gloucester with Freddie Burns and Tim Taylor slotting over two penalties each, while the try from Barritt backed up with four penalties and a conversion from Saracens guided them to victory. Final score: Gloucester Rugby 17, Saracens 19.

Movember – The Month of the Moustache.

2011-10-31T17:52:00.002Z

About The Campaign

During November each year, Movember is responsible for the sprouting of moustaches on thousands of men’s faces in the UK and around the world. The aim of which is to raise vital funds and awareness for men’s health, specifically prostate cancer and other cancers that affect men.

On Movember 1st, guys register at Movember.com with a clean-shaven face and then for the rest of the month, these selfless and generous men, known as Mo Bros, groom, trim and wax their way into the annals of fine moustachery. Supported by the women in their lives, Mo Sistas, Movember Mo Bros raise funds by seeking out sponsorship for their Mo-growing efforts.

Mo Bros effectively become walking, talking billboards for the 30 days of November and through their actions and words raise awareness by prompting private and public conversation around the often ignored issue of men’s health.

At the end of the month, Mo Bros and Mo Sistas celebrate their gallantry and valor by either throwing their own Movember party or attending one of the infamous Gala Partés held around the world by Movember, for Movember.

To register and for more information please visit http://www.ukmovemberr.com/ or www.movember.org.