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Saturday, August 20, 2011

Scotland 23-12 Italy

Scotland v Italy

Venue: Murrayfield
Date: Saturday 20 August
Kick-off: 1700 BST
Coverage: Live on BBC Two Scotland from 1645 BST, Radio Scotland 92-95 FM and online

Nikki Walker scores a try in this year's Six Nations victory at Murrayfield

Scotland were 21-8 winners against Italy at Murrayfield earlier this year

Scotland take on Italy at Murrayfield in what is the final preparation game before the World Cup gets underway in New Zealand next month.

And the Test at Murrayfield represents the last chance to impress head coach Andy Robinson.

Simon Danielli starts on the left wing, with Nikki Walker on the bench, and it looks like a straight battle between those two for a place in the squad.

Props Alasdair Dickinson, Moray Low and Euan Murray will also be fired up for the Azzurri clash since it is likely to be a choice of two from three.

The latter is among the replacements as he makes his way back from an Achilles injury.

Even though it's a first game of the season for many players, we go into it with a lot of optimism

Gregor Townsend Scotland attack coach

Back-row stalwarts John Barclay and Kelly Brown return to the starting line-up, having been rested for the 10-6 win over Ireland a fortnight ago.

Richie Vernon joins them and will need to turn in a good performance to guarantee his seat on the plane heading to the southern hemisphere, although David Denton and Johnnie Beattie are perhaps the likelier men to face the unfortunate chop.

Robinson must trim his squad to 30 on Monday, leaving eight men disappointed.

Centre Ben Cairns, prop Ryan Grant and flanker Rob Harley have not been included for either warm-up match.

Greig Laidlaw was only given 20 minutes against the Irish and may well be left behind if experienced scrum-halves Mike Blair and Chris Cusiter prove their fitness.

Blair starts against Italy, with his old rival Cusiter on the bench.

RECENT MEETINGS

2007: Italy 37-17 (Murrayfield)
2007: Scotland 18-16 (St Etienne)
2008: Italy 23-20 (Rome)
2009: Scotland 26-6 (Murrayfield)
2010: Italy 16-12 (Rome)
2011: Scotland 21-8 (Murrayfield)

If Dan Parks can impress at stand-off, he has a chance of reclaiming the number 10 jersey in New Zealand, where the Scots will be up against Romania, Georgia, Argentina and England in the pool section.

Rory Lamont is the given the chance to show what he can do at full-back, with Max Evans on the right wing, while Nicke De Luca forms a centre partnership with Graeme Morrison, the only survivor from the untidy win over Ireland.

Captain Al Kellock and the ferocious Nathan Hines are back to add bite and muscle against a team that has a good record at Murrayfield.

Scotland's only Six Nations success this year came against Italy in a 21-8 win on the final weekend.

However, the Azzurri ran in four tries for a 37-17 win in Edinburgh in 2007 and beat Scotland on home soil in the 2008 and 2010 tournaments.

"We were pleased with the way we played against Italy in the Six Nations," attack coach Gregor Townsend told BBC Scotland.

"Even though it's a first game of the season for many players, we go into it with a lot of optimism.

"We were pleased with a lot of aspects of the game against Ireland and feel were are on the right track."

Italy struggled to a 31-24 win against Japan last weekend but are closer to full strength this time, with just three changes from the side that shocked France in this year's Six Nations.

Scotland: R Lamont (Toulon), M Evans (Castres), N De Luca (Edinburgh), G Morrison (Glasgow Warriors), S Danielli (Ulster), D Parks (Cardiff Blues), M Blair (Edinburgh), A Dickinson (Sale Sharks), S Lawson (Gloucester), M Low (Glasgow Warriors), N Hines (Clermont Ferrand), A Kellock (Glasgow Warriors), K Brown (Saracens), R Vernon (Sale Sharks), J Barclay (Glasgow Warriors)

Replacements: D Hall (Glasgow Warriors), E Murray (Newcastle Falcons), R Gray (Glasgow Warriors), R Rennie (Edinburgh), C Cusiter (Glasgow Warriors), R Jackson (Glasgow Warriors), N Walker (Ospreys)

Italy: Andrea Masi (Aironi); Tommaso Benvenuti (Treviso), Gonzalo Canale (Clermont-Auvergne), Gonzalo Garcia (Treviso), Mirco Bergamasco (Racing-Metro Paris); Luciano Orquera (Aironi), Fabio Semenzato (Treviso); Sergio Parisse (Stade Francais) - capt, Robert Barbieri (Treviso), Paul Derbyshire (Treviso); Cornelius Van Zyl (Treviso), Carlo Antonio Del Fava (Aironi); Martin Castrogiovanni (Leicester Tigers), Leonardo Ghiraldini (Treviso), Andrea Lo Cicero (Racing-Metro Paris)

Replacements: Tommaso D'Apice (Aironi), Lorenzo Cittadini (Treviso), Marco Bortolami (Aironi), Alessandro Zanni (Treviso), Pablo Canavosio (Calvisano), Riccardo Bocchino (Cavalieri Prato), Matteo Pratichetti (Aironi)

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Ebor wins for Tinkler and Fahey

Nigel Tinkler trains at Langton, a few miles south of Malton

Malton trainers Nigel Tinkler and Richard Fahey ended the opening day of York's Ebor meeting with a winner each.

Tinkler's Bomber Jet took the Sportingbet.com Stakes, while Fahey's Our Joe Mac won the final race, the Patrington Haven Leisure Park Stakes.

Tinkler told BBC Radio York: "The horse is like a child who needs his hand holding, so he had another horse go down to the start with him today.

"If it hadn't been for that fellow he probably wouldn't have won the race."

Jockey Kieren Fallon guided Bomber Jet through a crowded field to seal the win.

I love racing in Yorkshire, it's a totally different atmosphere

William Haggas Yorkshire-born trainer

Fahey's stable jockey Paul Hanagan was involved in a head-to-head battle with Arlequin, saddled by Middleham's James Bethell, to win by a head in a thrilling finish.

"Well, it was when we knew the result," quipped Fahey. "It's fantastic [to win at York] but especially at this meeting.

"The horse has been a little bit disappointing, but he's coming back. He ran well at Goodwood (last month, finishing third behind Arlequin) so I'm delighted he didn't win there because it made it better for us up here."

Fahey has been the top trainer at York for the last five years, and that win took him to seven winners for the season, level with Sheriff Hutton veteran Mick Easterby.

"Yeah, he's taking us on this year, but competition's never bad. We've had 13 or 14 winners in the last 12 days, the horses are running well so we're happy," Fahey added.

Yorkshire can claim three successes on the day as Skipton-born William Haggas, now based at Newmarket, saddled Entifaadha, winner of the Sportingbet.com Acomb Stakes.

"I thought he was going to have a real battle, I couldn't believe he won by a length and a quarter, so I'm chuffed," said Haggas.

"The horse cost a lot of money... 360 thousand. Unfortunately a high-priced yearling doesn't always relate to a top-class racehorse but he's thoroughly genuine and obviously now has a bit of ability.

"I was born in Skipton and raised in Gargrave and Kirkby Malham. I love racing in Yorkshire, it's a totally different atmosphere, I'm an avid Yorkshireman and I love coming home. It's marvellous to win here."

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Elvis fans mark anniversary at Graceland

Year after year, Elvis Presley fans flock to his Memphis grave to mark the anniversary of the singer's death.

A candlelight vigil at Graceland marks Presley's 1977 death
The singer died in his Memphis, Tennessee, home at age 42
Presley is buried on the grounds of Graceland
In 2010, Forbes magazine estimated his estate's annual income at $60 million.

(CNN) -- Their candles flickering in the warm Tennessee night, fans quietly stood vigil over Elvis Presley's grave early Tuesday to mark the 34th anniversary of the singer's death.

"Thank you so much for being here and continuing to honor the legacy of my father," said a message from Lisa Marie Presley that was read to fans at the gates of Graceland. "Your ongoing love and support mean very much to me and my family."

Presley died at the Memphis, Tennessee, mansion on August 16, 1977, and is buried on the grounds. Fans began filing past his grave bearing candles Monday night.

Graceland hosts a week of events leading up to the annual commemoration, featuring tribute concerts, appearances by contemporaries and onetime sidemen and fan parties.

The "King of Rock n' Roll" was 42 when he was found dead in his bathroom at the mansion, which he bought after hitting it big 20 years earlier.

While his death was ruled the result of an irregular heartbeat, the autopsy report was sealed amid accusations that abuse of prescription drugs caused the problem.

More than three decades later, he remains one of the top-selling acts in music.

In 2010, Forbes magazine estimated his estate's annual take from music sales, a Las Vegas show, Graceland visits and licensing at $60 million.

CNN's Ed Payne and Matt Smith contributed to this report

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Bingham faces Williams in final

Bendigo will be the first ranking final of Bingham's 16-year professional career

England's Stuart Bingham will face Welshman Mark Williams in the final of the Australian Goldfields Open in Bendigo.

Bingham upset former world champion Shaun Murphy 6-2 in the first semi-final, while Williams beat Ireland's Ken Doherty by the same score in the second.

It will be 35-year-old Bingham's first appearance in a ranking event final.

"This has to be the best achievement for me," he said.

"It's something I've wanted to do all of my life."

Bingham, who knocked Ronnie O'Sullivan out of the UK Championships last year, opened his semi-final tie with an impressive break of 114 - the only century break of the match.

Former world champion Doherty, playing in his first ranking semi-final since 2006, was unable to gather any positive momentum against world number one Williams.

Bingham and Williams will meet in the final on Sunday at the Bendigo Stadium in Victoria.

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Friday, August 19, 2011

Gloucester sign up hooker Charles

Charles made his Western Force debut in 2010

Gloucester have signed hooker Nathan Charles on a short-term contract.

The 22-year-old Australian has been drafted in from Super Rugby side Western Force.

Gloucester have been forced to find a replacement hooker for their pre-season campaign after Matias Cortese required minor knee surgery.

And with Scott Lawson on international duty with Scotland, Koree Britton and Darren Dawidiuk were their only available options.

"Nathan's a very highly rated hooker in Australia," said head coach Bryan Redpath.

"We're fortunate to be able to bring him in to cover Matias' absence.

"We had to act because if anything happened to Koree or Darren in the pre-season games, we'd have no hooker cover for the start of the Premiership season. So, it'll be good to have him on board."

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Ex-heavyweight Scott LeDoux dies

LeDoux once fought Muhammad Ali in an exhibition bout

Scott LeDoux, a former WBC heavyweight title contender, has died aged 62 from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

The American lost to Larry Holmes on a technical knockout in July 1980 when challenging for the WBC belt.

LeDoux also fought George Foreman and Frank Bruno in a 10-year professional career that ended in 1983.

Nicknamed 'The Fighting Frenchman', LeDoux won 33 of his 50 pro fights, 22 by knockout.

LeDoux's final fight was a third-round stoppage by Briton Bruno at Wembley Arena in May 1983.

After boxing he entered politics and was a commissioner in Anoka County in his home state of Minnesota, until he stepped down in 2010 because of his declining health.

Rhonda Sivarajah, the chair of Anoka County board of commissioners said: "He was a big man with a gentle spirit. I can only imagine the sadness at losing someone so special after such a valiant battle."

LeDoux was the son of a miner who grew up in northern Minnesota. His first professional fight was in February 1974 when he knocked out Arthur Pullins in the third round in Minneapolis.

He won his first 12 fights before losing to Roy Wallace in March 1975. He fought Foreman in Utica, New York in August 1976, losing in the third round.

He earned draws with future world champion Leon Spinks and Ken Norton before being defeated by Holmes in Bloomington, Minnesota.

LeDoux also fought boxing great Muhammad Ali in a five-round exhibition bout.

ALS, a form of motor neurone disease, is also known as Lou Gehrig's disease after the New York Yankees baseball legend whose career and life were cut short by it.

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Bradley hails 'perfect' U.S. PGA putt

Surprise winner at PGA Championship

Keegan Bradley was proud of his performance in the closing holes of the PGA Championship
Bradley won a playoff against Jason Dufner to win his first major title
The tournament at the Atlanta Athletic Club was the first major Bradley had played in
Bradley's aunt Pat won six majors on the LPGA Tour between 1980 and 1986

U.S. PGA Championship winner Keegan Bradley told CNN he was proud of the "perfect" putt that helped him overhaul a five-shot deficit to clinch his first major title.

Bradley, 25, defeated his compatriot Jason Dufner in a three-hole playoff at the Atlanta Athletic Club to register an unlikely victory after both players finished on eight-under-par for 72 holes.

New world number 29 Bradley looked to have handed the title to Dufner when he fell five shots behind the leader after finding the water for a triple bogey at the par three 15th.

But Dufner followed his rival into the water on 15 and bogeyed 16 and 17 just as Bradley refound his form to sink back-to-back birdies, including a 35-foot putt for par on the 17th, to force a playoff.

Bradley wins PGA Championship in playoff

I'm just proud of the way I came back. I could've folded, I'm just proud that I didn't
--Keegan Bradley

"The putt on 17 is one I'll never forget for the rest of my life. It was a perfect putt. I was relieved [also] to make that putt on 16; I knew it was a very important putt.

"I'm just proud of the way I came back," said Bradley. "I could've folded, I'm just proud that I didn't."

Bradley is currently in his debut year on the PGA Tour and was playing in a major for the first time in his career.

The rookie admitted he was still coming to terms with the magnitude of his achievement and the attention which comes with it.

"It has sunk in a little bit. I've been in the media room a few times, there are normally four or five people in there but today this place was full. So it's definitely hitting home."

Bradley comes from a rich golfing heritage and his major trophy is not the first one won by the family.

He is the nephew of Pat Bradley, a six-time major winner on the LPGA Tour between 1980 and 1986.

"My grandmother used to ring a cow bell to commemorate Pat's wins," Bradley revealed. "The bell is now in the Hall of Fame, I've actually visited it a few times.

"My mother has started her own tradition of taking some wind chimes and running up and down the street like a crazy woman. It's a cool thing to be mentioned with her [Pat].

"We've both won majors, it's remarkable. It almost gives me chills."