The Manchester United midfielder will be important for Didier Deschamps but the attacking trio of Mbappé, Dembélé and Griezmann are the real keyFrance v Australia, the opening match for my country at the World Cup. Time to stop the talking, time for action. I’ve been there and have had to cope with the pressure – pressure from the fans, the expectations of a nation and the pressure you put on yourself. Wanting to deliver.Everybody knows the first game is really tricky and really important, psychologically. You will all look at this fixture and think it shouldn’t be too complicated for Les Bleus. But this is a key moment for the French team. And we will find out a lot from...
Australia pushed England hard while their former coach’s sensitivity was exposed by an investment company’s giveawayAccording to PJ O’Rourke, it’s best to affect a limp handshake. “A firm, hearty handshake gives a good first impression,” he wrote, “and you’ll never be forgiven if you don’t live up to it.” There were a lot of hearty handshakes at the start of this latest one-day series between England and Australia, a gamut of clasps, claps, pats, pumps and bumps. Before the start of play the Australians shook hands with the umpires and then the Australians shook hands with each other, then the umpires shook hands with the English, then the English shook hands with the Australians. It was, O’Rourke might say, a...
Southern hemisphere sides dominated the 2015 World Cup in England but since then three out of the four have struggledMaro Itoje was in reflective mood as he sprawled himself in a chair that struggled to contain his 6ft 6in frame at England’s Bagshot base. “I have been in camp for only two days but you get the feeling something big is about to happen,” said the Lions and Saracens second‑row before Eddie Jones’s squad flew out to South Africa.He was talking about England’s odyssey but his words apply also to international rugby’s changing landscape. The last World Cup not only saw England become the first hosts to fail to make the knockout stage but, for the first time, the semi-finalists...
Reaction to the 250 or so Commonwealth Games athletes and officials seeking to stay underlines a basic rule of thumb: never believe what a country says about itself during a mega-eventAfter the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne 61 athletes and officials defected. Heroes, every one of them, in an era when switching from east to west – or vice versa – made the humans themselves prized trophies, coveted propaganda wins in the endless Cold War dick-measuring contest. Following last month’s Commonwealth Games on Australia’s Gold Coast it has been revealed that around 200 athletes and officials have outstayed their visas and are now seeking asylum. (Another 50 remain in the country illegally.) It is not called defecting today, you’ll note,...
Australia’s new tournament, which starts on Friday, boasts radical law changes but it risks increasing the risk of injury and eliminating the quirks that make rugby union what it isA new tournament starts in Australia on Friday. Called World Series Rugby, it will involve matches played by Western Force in Perth, which was dropped as one of the country’s super rugby sides at the end of last season, against the three Pacific islands, Hong Kong, the Rebels and the Crusaders.It was devised by Andrew Forrest, the Force’s billionaire backer, who anticipates that next year the series will largely include sides from Asia. World Rugby has given its approval for a series of law changes to be adopted with the aim...