England sticking to strengths against Australia; Ireland need to find old form to beat New Zealand; Wales must stop France momentum; South Africa could end Japan’s adventureEddie Jones has picked a team with England’s Six Nations win in Dublin in mind. If Jones has a blueprint for precisely how he wants his team to play, that is the closest they have come to it since he took charge. Related: Ben Youngs urges England to attack from the start against Australia Related: Wales boosted by return of big guns for quarter-final clash with France Continue reading...
England, Ireland and Wales are among the throng pushing to challenge New Zealand as the World Cup enters crunch timeNormal service has been resumed. After the surreal scenes of the All Blacks not being No 1 (Wales were, then Ireland!) they enter the quarter‑finals back at the top of the rankings, rated by the bookies as twice as likely to win the tournament as the second favourites. Don’t be so sure. It goes without saying they remain the best when on form, but that cancelled game might well be more of a hindrance to them than anyone, given that their last meaningful fixture will have been four weeks before their quarter‑final against Ireland. At least Italy would have been semi-meaningful....
Eddie Jones’s team had few problems at start of tournament but quarter-final provides new challengeThe last time the All Blacks lost a World Cup match was in 2007. It was a match I do not have fond memories of, having played in it, but incredibly valuable lessons were learned considering New Zealand’s record in the tournament since. Two things stand out when looking at why we lost that match against France. Firstly, we tinkered with our game plan throughout the pool stages and we just didn’t quite get it right in the quarter-final. Secondly, we had not been tested at all in the pool stages and we came up against a team on a completely different level to anything we...
No10s end a 35-international match gap since Wales last scored with a drop goal and help win a game in which they were outscored by three tries to twoWales used to be the masters of the drop goal. A method of scoring that has become an endangered species accounted for more than one-quarter of Barry John’s points tally for his country. In one club match for Cardiff, when two of Llanelli’s back-row forwards were his brothers who had threatened all sorts if they got hold of him, the game’s greatest fly-half barely made a break or passed all match, but his four drop kicks delivered a 12-9 victory.Before Sunday’s effective group decider against Australia, it had been 35 internationals since...
The fighter, who has announced his comeback at the age of 55, knows from the plight of his friend Gerald McClellan what a perilous place the boxing ring can beIt is nearly 25 years since Nigel Benn and Gerald McClellan went to war in London, but the tale took a surprising and unfortunate twist on Thursday afternoon.To the astonishment of all but those inured to the machinations of the fight game, Benn announced he is returning to the ring in Birmingham on 23 November – at 55, against Sakio Bika, who is 40 but was a world champion as recently as 2014. Related: Jane Couch: ‘I wish I hadn’t been the first in boxing ... I’m damaged’ Continue reading...