France wing Vincent Clerc has warned his team-mates that they cannot afford to under-estimate Samoa prior to the clash between the sides at the Stade de France here on Saturday. Marc Lievremont's side go into the game on the back of a superb 20-13 victory over world champions South Africa in Toulouse last week but Clerc says Samoa will prove equally challenging opponents. "We know what they're capable of doing," said the Toulouse man. "It's our responsibility to produce a good performance. It's almost as important as the match against South Africa and we want to continue in the same vein. "They can sometimes ...
Read Full Story
Ireland coach Declan Kidney decided Saturday's Test against Fiji was an opportunity to give his second-string a chance to shine. So he picked a team replete with British and Irish Lions in key positions. It all gives an indication of the scale of the task facing Fiji, whose small squad visits Dublin to play the reigning Six Nations champions. The last time Fiji played Ireland they lost by 47 points. But that was back when Irish rugby wasn't in the shape it is now. Gone are the days, at least for the time being, when young players are thrown into Test rugby without experienced ...
Read Full Story
New York Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce will be sidelined from NFL action indefinitely after he was unexpectedly diagnosed with a bulging disk in his neck. The Giants said their defensive captain had an MRI exam in New York and was also examined by a team doctor and spinal surgeon. "I'm shocked with what I heard from the doctors this afternoon," Pierce said in a statement released by the Giants. "I had no idea that what happened a few weeks ago could keep me off the field. I didn't think it was that serious. "I'm going to do everything the doctors tell me to do ...
Read Full Story
France captain Thierry Henry said Friday "the fairest solution" to the row over his handball in the World Cup playoff against Ireland would be a replay, but FIFA rejected an Irish call for a re-match. Henry repeated his admission that he had controlled the ball with his hand before the decisive goal in Wednesday's match in Paris, but insisted it had been an "instinctive" reaction. The incident led to an angry request from the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) for a replay. But world football's governing body FIFA dashed Irish hopes, ruling that "the result of the match cannot be changed and the match ...
Read Full Story
Digby Ioane has been ruled out of Australia's Test with Scotland at Murrayfield on Saturday as a result of a shoulder injury. The Queensland centre is replaced in the starting line-up by Western Force's Ryan Cross with Lachlan Turner coming in on the bench. The injury is to Ioane's right shoulder, rather than the left which required reconstruction earlier this year and sidelined him for six months. Scotland have also made a change to their matchday 22 with back-up scrum-half Mike Blair having failed a fitness test on an injured ankle. The Edinburgh number nine suffered the injury in last Saturday's 23-10 win over ...
Read Full Story
Around 200 football matches in nine European countries including at least three Champions League games this season are implicated in a new match-fixing scandal, German prosecutors said on Friday. The suspect matches took place in Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Croatia, Slovenia, Turkey, Hungary, Bosnia-Hercegovina and Austria, netting criminals several million euros (dollars) in betting profits, prosecutors believe. They include 12 matches from the Europa League, formerly known as the UEFA Cup, one qualifying game for the under-21 European championship and four from the German second division. Police carried out around 50 raids on Thursday in Germany, Britain, Switzerland and Austria, arresting 15 people in Germany ...
Read Full Story
France captain Thierry Henry said on Friday that "the fairest solution" to the row surrounding his handball in the World Cup playoff against Ireland would be to replay the match. "Of course the fairest solution would be to replay the game but it is not in my control," Henry said, in a statement sent to Sky Sports News in Britain and other media. "Naturally I feel embarrassed at the way that we won and feel extremely sorry for the Irish who definitely deserve to be in South Africa," said the Barcelona and former Arsenal striker. He released the statement after football's world governing body ...
Read Full Story
European football braced on Friday for more details on a fresh match-fixing scandal reportedly involving huge sums of money placed with Asian bookmakers on suspect matches in nine countries. Police across Europe carried out raids and arrests on Thursday, with German prosecutors suspecting that players, coaches, referees and officials from high-ranking European football had been offered bribes to throw games. According to press reports, 15 people were arrested in at least six European countries, with around 100 suspects in total, with matches in Turkey the main focus of investigation. Prosecutors, who have been working in tandem with European football's ruling body UEFA, were due ...
Read Full Story
Tyson Gay and Sanya Richards were named the 2009 Jesse Owens Award recipients Thursday, the second time that each has earned the USA Track and Field honor. Gay also received the Owens award in 2007, and Richards won it in 2006. They will receive their awards at a ceremony on December 5. USATF chief executive Doug Logan said Gay and Richards "rank among this country's all-time great track athletes." Gay tied or lowered his American 100m record three times in three months this year, with a best of 9.69 seconds. That tied him with world record-holder Usain Bolt for the second-fastest time in history. ...
Read Full Story
The New York Knicks won't pursue four-time NBA scoring champion Allen Iverson, preferring to focus on rebuilding with younger players, team president Donnie Walsh said Friday. Although the Knicks are 2-9 so far this season, Walsh said the Knicks wouldn't make any additions right now. Walsh said the decision had nothing to do with Iverson's ability on the court. "I've always admired him," Walsh said of the former league MVP. "I think he'd be a great addition for a team that's in a different position than we're in and I hope he gets picked up." Iverson was waived by the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday ...
Read Full Story
