Rebels 2: Rebels fade out in second half.

A second half onslaught from the Highlanders at Rugby Park in Invercargill has seen the RaboDirect Rebels go down 43-12, despite scores being all tied up at half-time.

The first-half was impressive for the Rebels, shooting out to a 9-0 lead thanks to the laser-like boot of James O’Connor, with the home side dominating possession but unable to penetrate the Melbourne defence.

However, Rebels centre Lloyd Johansson was sent to the sin bin after 22 minutes for a dangerous tackle and the tide began to turn.

Despite O’Connor kicking another penalty during Johansson’s 10-minute spell, the Highlanders scored their first try of the night through fullback Ben Smith on 33 minutes. Five-eighth Chris Noakes added the extra two points and suddenly the Highlanders were back in the game.

Five minutes later O’Connor slotted his fourth penalty of the night, but right on the stroke of half-time the Highlanders drew level.

With 43 minutes on the clock Adam Thomson scored the first of his three tries for the night. Winger Hosea Gear threw a brilliant pass to find the loose forward who crossed untouched to send the teams into the break at 12-apiece.

It remains a mystery what Highlanders Head Coach Jamie Josehp said at half-time, but whatever it was it had the desired affect.

Just three minutes into the second-half Thomson scored his second after a line break from Prop Chris King, before winger Kade Poki crossed just two minutes later to blow the game wide apart.

Noakes added the extras to extend the lead out to 12 points, 24-12.

Three more tries to Highlanders captain Jamie Mackintosh, Smith and another to Thomson rounded out the scoring for the Highlanders in a dominant display over a tiring RaboDirect Rebels outfit.

Get Your Kit On: Peterborough United away kit 2012/2013

We are at the business end of the current season and so it is the kit manufacturers turn, to start the excitement for next season - already. No worries form the Posh, Stella McCartney been kept at arms length, but a can of Stella very close by.

Brought to you from our friends at Football Kit News. The first of what will be a busy close season, with one thing and a cucumber.

This is Peterborough United’s new 12/13 away kit, Posh’s new away strip for the forthcoming 2012/2013 campaign. The new Posh away shirt 2012/2013 has been made by Nike and was decided by Posh fans after a vote in March 2012. Nike had given the fans three options- a red and black kit, a yellow and black kit, and a plain yellow strip. The red and black kit won the most votes and has been chosen as the new 12/13 away kit.

Gabriel Zakuani is here seen modelling the new Peterborough United away kit 12/13.

The Nike logo on the shirt is in black, while it was in white on the other two options.

Sol y Futbol: Lanzarote continue winning, still 4 points adrift.

Thanks to Ian for the latest report from Arrecife. The gentleman in the picture is one of the kindest gentleman you can meet. I had the pleasure of his company last season with Mr Lane. Ian forgot to tell me the transformation of the chap during 90 minutes. Banging the hoardings, shouting at officials, fans, players, mascots, and blades of grass. He is like a man possessed - great entertainment, but what a nice bloke at the final whistle.

LANZAROTE 2 CHARCO DEL PINO 0

U.D. Lanzarote completed their third win on the bounce and their sixth consecutive home win, nevertheless with other teams also fighting for a playoff spot and winning, the Rojillos remain four points adrift of the all important fourth spot.

Over recent weeks Lanzarote´s home matches have been packed with entertainment but on this occasion the Tenerife side packed the defence and the Rojillos had to be content with the majority of possession though finding it difficult to create goal scoring opportunities.

Surprisingly the visitors began the game with a spring in their step as they forced the home side into a succession of corners though it wasn’t long until the Rojillos took control of the match against the leagues bottom side.

The opening goal came in the 25th minute. Good work from the over lapping left back Taja fed last week’s hero Gustavo. From a narrow angle the midfielder blasted at goal only to see his shot rebound off the Tenerife goalkeeper and fall into the path of Rosmen. The hardworking striker managed to wrap his foot over the ball and blast into the vacant net from five yards.

Lanzarote began to find their rhythm but were thwarted by a stubborn Charco defence. The visitors only effort of the first half came late on as front man Oscar Torres fired narrowly over the bar from the edge of the box but the score remained 1-0 to Lanzarote at the break.

The visitors look doomed to relegation with an eleven point drift to safety but gave a good account of themselves in the early stages of the second period. A cross from the right from the visitors was only half cleared by the Rojillo defence and from the edge of the area midfielder Airam rocketed in a goal bound strike but the Lanzarote keeper Ruymán brilliantly dived low to his right turning the ball away for a corner.

The Rojillos had been warned and gradually stepped up a gear with midfielder Vladi in fine form fighting for every ball and showing why he has played football at higher levels.

With ten minutes remaining Lanzarote finally took the sting out of the Tenerife side’s tail. Action hungry Toñito picked the ball up on the left wing and bamboozled his defender by turning one way then another. He finally cut inside and planted his shot beautifully passed the outstretched keeper into the far right hand corner to give his side breathing space with a 2-0 lead.

The Tenerife side were exhausted and couldn’t offer any more fight after putting so much effort into the match. In reality Lanzarote never looked in any difficulty and were comfortable winners.

Lanzarote have leapfrogged Tenerife B as they were defeated in La Palma by lowly U.D. Tijarafe and sit in seventh spot. Next week the Rojillos travel to Tenerife to play against Las Zocas. Hopefully the Tenerife side will continue their downer as they have lost their last three matches.

GOALS
1-0min 25 Rosmen
2-0 min 80 Toñito

World in Union. Round 18 round-up, Aviva Premiership

Thank you to our friends at Aviva Premiership rugby for our Round 18 round up post.

Premiership Rugby started a ground-breaking experiment this weekend by having a television match official (TMO) at the Gloucester Rugby v Exeter Chiefs fixture, the first time a TMO has been in operation at a rugby match that was not being broadcast live on television. A TMO will be in operation at four non-live broadcast matches this season as a trial with a view to extending the facility to all Aviva Premiership Rugby matches next season.

On Friday night, former Sale Sharks favourite Charlie Hodgson returned to haunt his old club by kicking 20 points in a valuable bonus point victory for his new club Saracens at Edgeley Park. Tries for last season's Aviva Premiership Rugby Champions flowed from Chris Wyles and Ernst Joubert in the first half, and Alex Goode, Michael Tagicakibau and Hugh Vyvyan in the second half. Sale Sharks replied with three penalties from the boot of Nick Macleod. Final score: Sale Sharks 9, Saracens 45.

Over at Sixways on Friday, Worcester Warriors nudged Newcastle Falcons closer to the relegation trap-door. Centre Alex Grove's second-half try secured the victory for Worcester, leaving bottom club Newcastle still eight points adrift with just four league games left. Jimmy Gopperth kicked three penalties for the visitors, which was enough to secure a 9-6 advantage approaching the hour mark, but Scotland international Grove's try then rounded off a spell of sustained pressure backed up by some strong kicking from Andy Goode. Final score: Worcester Warriors 19, Newcastle Falcons 9.

On Saturday Harlequins dug their heels into the top spot in the Aviva Premiership Rugby table in front of a 13,882 sell-out crowd at The Stoop. Three penalties from former New Zealand fly-half Nick Evans and a late try by replacement flanker Maurie Fa'asavalu secured a hard-fought victory over Bath Rugby. Bath took the game to Harlequins in the first half but a try-saving tackle by Quins full-back Mike Brown, back from RBS Six Nations bench duty with England, kept them out. Final score: Harlequins 14, Bath Rugby 6.

Over at Kingsholm, substitute lock Aly Muldowney's last-gasp try for Exeter Chiefs against hosts Gloucester Rugby, which was awarded on the judgement of television match official Tony Spreadbury, and converted by Muldowney's fellow replacement Gareth Steenson, gave the Chiefs a seventh win from their last eight away matches in all competitions. Tries came for Gloucester from James Simpson-Daniel, Freddie Burns and Nick Runciman, and for Exeter from Craig Mitchell, Matt Jess, and Aly Muldowney, in an action-packed, thrilling encounter. Final score: Gloucester Rugby 27, Exeter Chiefs 28.

At Franklin's Gardens, Northampton Saints held onto fourth position in the Aviva Premiership Rugby table with a valuable win over eleventh placed London Wasps. Tries for Saints came from James Downey, Ryan Lamb, Martin Roberts and two from England full-back Ben Foden. Nicky Robinson kicked five penalties for London Wasps but a 10thdefeat in 11 games leaves them just eight points above bottom club Newcastle Falcons and their showdown at Adams Park in the final round of the season could be a relegation decider. Final score: Northampton Saints 32, London Wasps 15.

On Sunday at the Madejski Stadium, London Irish looked on target for a victory over Leicester Tigers when they led 32-31 with two minutes to go. However, a Toby Flood penalty and a Tom Croft try from the last movement of the game proved heart-breaking for the hosts. London Irish ran in tries from Bryn Evans and Tom Homer with a drop goal from Dan Bowden and 19 points from the boot of Homer. Tries for the Tigers came from Toby Flood, Julian Salvi, Manu Tuilagi, and Tom Croft, with 21 points courtesy of Toby Flood's boot. Final score: London Irish 32, Leicester Tigers 41.

Mother of tragic young sportsman calls for more screening

12 young people die each week through cardiac difficulties. The campaign to increase screening gathers momentum. We are so glad to hear the fantastic news coming from London Chest Hospital about Fabrice progress. It is a time to reflect on those who didn’t make it and join the campaign to help set up a full system of screening. Don’t be fooled, it will never eradicate the issues touched in our post below, but we can reduce the chances and through education of the actions needed when confronted by such situations, will help save more lives.

Please take time to read the article below and go and visit the website Cardiac Risk in the Young www.c-r-y.org.co.uk.

Finally our thoughts and prayers go out to the Bouzid family featured in the post below.

Article by Joseph Tulip from the Shields Gazette (www.shieldsgazzette.com) taking in full.

THE mother of a tragic young footballer from South Tyneside has called for more heart screening in sport.

Dawn Bouzid spoke out after Bolton Wanderers midfielder Fabrice Muamba collapsed during an FA Cup tie against Tottenham Hotspur last Saturday, suffering a cardiac arrest.

The 23-year-old was rushed to the London Chest Hospital, where he is continuing to receive intensive care.

Mrs Bouzid’s 21-year-old son, Jamal, from South Shields, collapsed and died on April 27 last year after watching a match involving his former team, Shields United.
An inquest into his death revealed Jamal suffered from sudden adult death syndrome.
As the first anniversary of her son’s death approaches, Mrs Bouzid has called for more screening to test sportsmen and women for heart conditions, both professionally and at local level.

The 44-year-old, of Horsley Hill, South Shields, said: “I don’t know if it’s because I am more aware of them, but these types of incidents seem to be happening more often.

“It’s always tragic, and it has been difficult for us, but I would support anything which would help to save lives.”

Professional footballers undergo mandatory tests for heart conditions at the age of 16, but after Muamba’s collapse, Premier League officials are now considering increasing them. The charity Cardiac Risk in the Young (Cry) says at least 12 young people in the UK die suddenly each week of cardiac abnormalities, sudden death syndrome or sudden cardiac death.

In 2005, the European Society of Cardiology and International Olympic Committee (IOC) recommended cardiac screening for any young person taking part in competitive sport.

Mrs Bouzid add
ed: “It would be reassuring to see people of all ages screened in local sport as well as at the top level.

“I understand it would cost money, but if there was a way of making it happen, I would certainly welcome it.

“As awareness has been raised of cardiac-related death, 20,000 young people have approached Cry and requested screening.”

Hundreds of people joined together in memory of Jamal last May during a special charity football match involving his former teams. Shields United and Veterans United.

Tapes Up: Diamonds Have It All To Do To Retain Tyne Tweed Trophy

Thank you to George English and the Newcastle Diamonds Media team for the match report and picture. We have changed the features name to just Tapes Up, Bobby Dazzlers Tapes Up - just too long.

Berwick Bandits 54
Newcastle Diamonds 39
Tyne Tweed Trophy - 1st leg)

As the crowd filed into Shielfield Park for the Tyne Tweed Trophy first leg last night there was considerable doubt whether the match would even begin due to a blanket of thick fog that lay over the stadium obscuring everything past the mid point from the referee box view.

Miraculously with ten minutes to start time, and a cancellation on the cards, the murk lifted and Heat One got under way just after seven with Ricky Ashworth carrying on where he's left off the night before at Scunthorpe where he was unbeaten in five races by taking a good win over Diamond's skipper Mark Lemon in the Bandits' 4-2.

Richie Worrall, who is developing into one of the League's best riders in 2012 so far, took the second with ease, but the second placed points were snatched from Steve Worrall by an outside move from Alex Edberg to keep the match level 6-6.

Following a home 5-1 in Heat Three, Seb Alden found a non-existent gap to sneak between a tight riding Richie Worrall and Stuart Robson off bend two to seal his win early on in the 3-3, and the gap remained at four, 14-10.

Filip Sitera shot out to lead Heat Five, but Complin made a ghastly gate and had to force his way back into contention over the first lap and coming off the second bend shot round Lemon at an alarming rate to join his partner up front for a maximum and extend the Bandits' lead to 19-11.

With the Bandits leading 27-15 after heat seven, Newcastle's management nominated the high-riding Richie Worrall as a tactical ride for double points in the eighth, and the Diamond twin jetted away to expertly lead but from stone last Bellego shot round the outside line to pass the field and lead.

Richie Worrall fought back and took a dive under the Frenchman with the Bandit jetting off towards the fence, but avoided collision although did end up at the back again in with the tactical working well for Newcastle 1-8, tightening the match to 28-23, keeping the Diamonds in touch.

Berwick continued to stamp their home advantage hard with a 5-1 coming from Alden and a determined Edberg who shot round Lemon off bend two and held out the Australian's advances throughout to move the scores on to 39-30.

A massive win from Complin and a second for Edberg following a mammoth battle with Richie Worrall recorded another Bandits' maximum putting the match out of the Diamonds' reach with three races left 44-31.

Richie Worrall again shone bright in Heat 14, battling well to the front on the opening bends, but twin Steve also proved that his time with Newcastle is starting to bring similar high-levels of talent out in him too as he rode well to hold second ahead of the hard riding Sitera and Edberg for a Newcastle 1-5 (50-37) indicating the Diamonds could soon have two of the best reserves in the Premier League.

George English, Newcastle's team manager was equally impressed with his twin reserves saying: "We've seen Richie develop over the last 12 months, but already this season we can see the signs that Steve is starting to catch his brother up and that can only be good for the Diamonds.

"Tonight we were lacking in general fire-power, but we know our lads are capable of more and it will come, but we do have more work to do to retain this trophy this time round than we normally do, so we'll have to find the extra oomph as we don't want the Bandits' raiding party to nick this trophy now after being ours for so many seasons."

As if Devine intervention had saved the match from the fog, the gloom descended once more, and just as thick, ten minutes after the end of Heat 15 which would have rendered racing impossible.

Gwrys Yn Kernow: Pirates chalk up a play-off win.

Thanks to our friends at Cornish Pirates, especially Woll for the match report and Simon Bryant for the picture.

Cornish Pirates 25 Rotherham Titans 17

RFU Championship Play-Offs Round 3

Sunday 25th March 2012

Woll's Match Report

Rumours of the demise of the play-off chances for the Cornish Pirates have been greatly exaggerated.

But then they needed to be, as the Cornishmen came into this game in the rather bizarre position of being in the second semi-final spot in Pool B, but without a win to their name. A couple of tries by Grant Pointer, and a determined performance all round put that particular situation right, which combined to send the home faithful away satisfied, on a balmy early spring afternoon by the seaside.

In the process they actually gained a couple of points on the group leaders Bedford who, inexplicably perhaps, could only come away from Headingley with a couple of points from a topsy-turvy draw with their hosts, Leeds. The Carnegie leap-frogging their Yorkshire rivals Rotherham, who left with the lowering sun on their backs with zilch.

And yet they could so easily have left with more, even four, had they backed themselves a little and not made one or two howling fumbles, when the scoring of a try would have been the easier option. It goes that way sometimes.

Not that the Pirates will be concerning themselves too much with that, given their own misfortunes in the opening two games. All of which has been well documented and commented upon, and likely still to result in some kind of reaction from those who can. More likely will be the obvious need to repeat today’s result as a minimum, and the attention to detail that that will require before the return fixture at Clifton Lane next Saturday.

Any doubts of that being the case were blown away in the opening minutes of this encounter, as the visitors blew open a hole in the Pirate defence with relative ease; McCall running in the opening try that went unconverted by the otherwise reliable boot of Law to give the Titans an early lead.

The Pirates responded in kind with the first of Pointer’s tries four minutes later which Cook also failed to add too. Although he rectified this soon after, to snatch the lead back after the Pirate’s pack had asserted themselves early on at scrum time to earn the simplest of kicks 20m out.

Thoughts of expanding on this advantage had to wait however, as Rotherham’s most prominent tactic of not allowing the home side to settle, paid dividends.

Law had his range nailed by now and, a couple of penalties either side of the first quarter mark, had his side back in the driving seat. A worthy position too. And nothing to do with Ward beautifully handing off Mr Gamage who had the misfortune betwixt the two scores to find himself in the hooker’s flight path at a critical moment.

Unfortunately for the Titans as half time approached this ascendancy was beginning to creak a little. Evans looked his usually nippy self on the left wing, while Suniula and Hill were feeding nicely off the ball their half backs were giving them, and threatening to profit.

As it was, it was skipper and scrum half Cattle who reaped the rewards, from another fine forwards effort close to the Rotherham line, to nudge his side back in front for the loCook did his bit 15m in from touch and so a slender four point lead made that tea taste a little sweeter.

It needed to be, as Law continued his metronomic kicking duties with a couple more goals either side of a Cookie effort, in the opening ten of the new half. In so doing the pressure on the home side was maintained making it a single point in it.

At this point the Pirates needed more composure as it appeared they were upsetting the officials too often for their own good insofar as the 50-50’s were swinging in favour of the Yorkshiremen.

Crucially they did, but not without some fortune along the way as Griffiths will concur with the line beckoning.

On the hour came the game’s defining moment, which owed its foundation to a deft offload by Suniula to Kessell in front of the main stand. The replacement scrum half-cum-winger exploited the space in front of him, but realised the line wasn’t to be his destination. Quick ball followed and arrived at the returning Hill’s hands, for the centre to sportingly pass to Pointer; and spurning his own chance for glory in the process.

Importantly following Cook’s successful conversion, the gap had now increased to eight and two scores. This way it would stay and despite a frenetic finish which saw all semblance of structure ripped up and thrown into the pitch-side bins, as the Titans strove for at least a losing bonus point.

A four try version of the same for the Pirates also had to be relinquished and despite some heroic stuff from Myerscough.

But for now we can savour a return to winning ways and trust in those we must that similar occurs next week on the road. Make no mistake; the return fixture will not be for the faint hearted or those with a disposition to hide behind sofas. I’m sure Rotherham’s colourful coach Andre, has idea’s to make this just such a reality.

Cornish Pirates
15 R. Cook 14 G. Pointer 13 A. Suniula 12 S. Hill 11 M. Evans (20 T. Kessell ht) 10 C. Thomas 9 G. Cattle (capt) 8 B. Maidment 7 P. Burgess (17 R. Elloway 71mins) 6 C. Morgan (19 K. Marriott 66mins) 5 I. Nimmo 4 M. Smith (18 M. Myerscough 61mins) 3 A. Paver 2 D. Ward 1 C. Rimmer (R. Storer 69mins)

Replacements: un-used 21 A. Penberthy, 22 T. Cooper

Tries: Pointer 2, Cattle
Cons: Cook 2
Pens: Cook 2

Rotherham Titans
15 T. Foden 14 E. Tellwright 13 D. McCall 12 P. Nonu (22 C. Hodgson 63mins) 11 S. Monahan 10 G. Law 9 J. Williams 8 R. Copeland 7 S. Dougall (capt) 6 C. Kirwan (20 S. Taulava 51mins) 5 A. Griffiths 4 B. Maddison (19 N. Patrick 51mins) 3 B. Hooper (18 R. O’Donnell 61mins) 2 T. Stagg (16 D. Baines ht) 1 S. Cahill (17 B. Harris 67mins)

Replacements: un-used 21 M. Rhodes

Tries: McCall
Pens: Law 4

Match Officials
Referee: Darren Gamage
Assistants: Nick Williams, James Minards
Official 4: Andy Bickle
Attendance: 1923

Kult & Punk: St Pauli goaless in Hamburg

The boys were present at a stalemate at home. Another 2 points dropped, promotion looking a long shot now. Never mind back to Zoes and drown our sorrows in the guest ale.

FC St. Pauli 0-0 FC Energie Cottbus

The inconsistent form that has plagued St. Pauli of late returned at home to Energie Cottbus as the hosts' top-flight aspirations were dealt another blow.

After surprisingly losing in Aue last week, the St. Pauli set about getting their promotion challenge back on track, often committing seven men forward. However, for all their fast-paced and direct attacks, they could not break down an extremely well organised Cottbus defence. The visitors were by no means overwhelmed and sought to hit back on the break, but neither side was able to find the necessary spark of creativity prior to half time.

Pauli in need of improvement

After the restart momentum was clearly with the visitors, who threatened with the trickery of Leo Bittencourt and Dennis Sörensen up front. The hosts needed a good 15 minutes before they even got their first sight of goal, but it was merely a momentary reprieve from Cottbus' dominance. St. Pauli only really awoke from their slumber as the final whistle approached, but their last-ditch efforts did not overly trouble their guests as they match ended scoreless.

Given that the sides in their immediate vicinity, Fortuna Düsseldorf and Paderborn, both failed to win this weekend, Andre Schubert's men kept hold of fourth place and are still two points from the promotion play-off spot, while Cottbus are safely embedded in mid-table on 30 points.

Rebels 2: Rebels come out on top in 30-29 thriller

Thank you to Melbourne Rebels for providing this post by Andrew Stevenson.

The RaboDirect Rebels showed incredible strength of character to regain a lead they looked to have spurned, beating the Western Force in another exhilarating FxPro Super Rugby game that went right down to the wire.

The Rebels crafted a dream start, scoring three converted tries in the first quarter before the Force even got on the scoresheet. But their opponents didn’t give up, battling their way back into the match and taking a late lead before a thumping penalty from Mark Gerrard gave the Rebels the win against their Aussie rivals.
Captain Gareth Delve explained just how important the win was for the team, and thanked the fans for their unwavering support.

“This will give us a massive amount of confidence”, Delve said.
“In front of a crowd like this, that have stuck with us through thick and thin, really means a lot to us.

“We’ll turn up to training with a big smile on our face compared to last week, and hopefully build on this and go away to New Zealand and give it a good crack.”
The Rebels were eager to start the game well after the shock they suffered last week, and they couldn’t have dreamt of a better opening period. Looking to run the ball at great tempo and use the full width of the pitch to stretch the defence, the Rebels took the game to the Force right from the off.

Their first score came after a storming run from Jarrod Saffy took the Rebels up over halfway from a lineout deep in their own 22, before Cooper Vuna won a 5m scrum from a clever chip behind the defence.

As the “Rebels” chants echoed around the stadium, a strong attacking platform allowed Danny Cipriani to attack the Force’s defence right on the gain line, before giving Lachie Mitchell a perfect flat pass on an unstoppable running line to score under the posts.

Melbourne continued to move the ball and the Force defence back and forth, and the relentless pressure told again as Lloyd Johansson, the Rebels’ first Victorian-born player, stepped through a gap to score his first Super Rugby try.
When the Force finally managed to win some continued possession from the home team, they were met by an impenetrable Melbourne defence. As his team held out a relentless attack from the visitors, captain Delve sparked the Rebels’ third try by intercepting a pass out of the tackle.

Running the ball from their own line, the Rebels moved it quickly out to Gerrard on the wing, who threw a wily dummy to beat his man. Looking inside he found Cipriani sprinting up in support, the fly half showing his pace to beat the tracking runners to the line. Unfortunately he also seemed to injure a hamstring in the process, and left the field shortly after having been instrumental in the Rebels’ early dominance.
The Force slowly began to claw their way back into the game, scoring two tries before the half-time break and another shortly after to bring the score back to 24-19. Further pressure saw the Rebels’ concede another penalty, and the Rebels’ early lead was all but gone.
The Force then struck another
blow and threatened to repeat last week’s heartache, taking the lead 27-29 for the first time in the match in the 64th minute. Melbourne’s defence was breached as several runners flooded the same channel from a lineout, winger Nick Cummins slipping through to dive down in front of desolate Rebels fans.

But neither the players nor the fans lost hope, and their roar continued to swell with each Rebels attack. With 10 minutes to play, Pocock conceded a penalty giving Gerrard a chance to regain the lead for the Rebels. So well struck was the winger’s kick that the crowd jumped to their feet cheering before it was even halfway to the posts.

The game remained tight right until the death, with both sides frantically searching for a decisive score. In a frightening repeat of last week’s match, it was the Force who held the ball as the siren sounded, keeping possession for what seemed like an eternity as the 10,982 Melbourne crowd became deafening in their support.
But this time the Rebels’ defence was flawless – they kept their discipline and forced their opponents into a handling error to earn a thrilling first victory of the season.

Sol y Futbol: Lanzarote play there part in an amazing game

Mr Lane reports on possibly the strangest game he has ever known. 1-0, 11 minutes to go. I know lets score 6 goals.

REAL SPORTING SAN JOSÉ 3 LANZAROTE 4

With eleven minutes remaining of normal time the game was poised at 1-0 to the home side.Who could have foretold of the mayhem that was about to occur. The Rojillos having only won once and scored just eight times on the road this season bagged their fourth and winning goal in the 96th minute.

The match began evenly balanced with the Rojillos just edging possession. In the 19th minute a strike from Jotha grazed the woodwork of the Sporting goal. A few minutes later the ever wanting Toñito darted down the right wing and centred for Rosmen, the tall striker hit the target but the Sporting keeper Raúl produced a great save to keep the game scoreless.

As the half progressed so did the confidence of the Gran Canarian side. In the 33rd minute good work from winger Julio who struck the ball low across the area to the far left post and on hand to fire the ball home was midfielder Kevin to give his side a 1-0 advantage.

The balanced of play evened out over the remainder of the first period as Lanzarote went into the break with their traditional away score line of being a goal down.

The second half of this match came alive in the 65th minute with the introduction of the talented and hugely experienced Gustavo García. The midfielder has been involved in many of Lanzarote´s fine Copa del Rey feats and played for Las Palmas in Segunda A (The Championship) completely changed the course of the match.

In the 73rd minute defender Yeray Rodríguez picked up his second yellow card and Lanzarote were forced to play the remainder of the match with ten men.

Despite this and in the space of four minutes Gustavo turned the score upside down from a free kick and then a neat strike that sent Lanzarote in front 1-2. Five minutes later and the home side drew level from their leading marksman Ayoze. In the 89th minute Gustavo fired in his hat trick via the penalty spot to restore his sides lead at 2-3.

In the fourth minute into added on time the home side believed that they had salvaged a point following a converted penalty by Abraham which levelled parity at three apiece.

In the 96th minute and with almost the last kick of the match Venezuelan Alex Yunes stole the show with a fine strike to win the match for the Rojillos and earn three priceless points.

Lanzarote have only jumped up one position to eighth in the league table but are now only four points from the play offs. Next week they will have a further opportunity to move forward when they face a home match against rock bottom Charco del Pino.

GOALS
1-0 min 33 Kevin
1-1min 75 Gustavo
1-2min 79 Gustavo
2-2 min 84 Ayoze
3-2 min 89 Gustavo (penalty)
3-3 min 94 Abraham (penalty)
4-3 min 96 Alex Yunes

Bobby Dazzlers Tapes Up: Diamonds Bounce Back To Gain Revenge Over Redcar Bears

Welcome back to our speedway coverage for 2012. For the 2nd year we will be following Newcastle Diamonds. We start our feature named ‘Bobby Dazzlers Tapes Up’ at the Northern Challenge. Thanks to George English and the team at Newcastle Diamonds, for providing the match reports directly from their website www.newcastlediamonds.co.uk.

The Newcastle Diamonds opened their home 2012 season last night at Brough Park when the Redcar Bears called in try to do the double in the pre-season friendlies, but the Diamonds had other ideas.

The home side got off to a magnificent start with home number one and skipper Mark Lemon blowing away the nightmare of his first leg's mechanical problems by taking Heat One with ease in a home 5-1, a score repeated by the lightening Worrall twins in the second to put Newcastle 10-2 up.

Aaron Summers has always ridden the Byker track with skill, and so he did in the third to share the heat with a fine win, as did Ulrich Ostergaard who learned quickly from his heat one disaster to take the fourth in solid style with the score now at 15-9 courtesy of a Stuart Robson fall gifting the Bears a 2-4.

Summers' second win of the night in the sixth resulted again in a 2-4 as Lemon failed to get on terms with his fellow countryman with the score moving on to 20-16.

Former skipper Christian Henry took a secure second place in Heat Eight led and well won by his reserve partner Richie Worrall equalling the fastest time of the night up to that point at 64.2.

The Bears nominated Summers as a double-point tactical ride in Heat Nine against Ludvig Lindgren and Claes Nedermark, but it was the Bear who shot out to take a massive win for six points in a Redcar 3-6 to tighten the match at 32-25.

Controversy blew up on bend one of Heat 10 when skipper Lemon got squeezed dramatically between Gary Havelock and Summers with the Newcastle man falling and, much to the annoyance of George English the Newcastle team manager, excluded the home star.

After much deliberation on the pits-referee phone link the result stood for the three-man re-run in which Summers and Havelock shot out to take an untroubled 1-5 to reduce the score to 33-30.

Richie Worrall gave Havelock the hardest race of his season so far in Heat 12, but the former World Champion won out a deserved winner in another 3-3 as the scores remained tight and only three apart.

Lemon and Robson romped to take advantage of a Summers fall and nab a vital 5-1 in the 13th, taking the score on to 44-37, but despite a 2-4 in the penultimate race the home win on the night was in the bag redressing the defeat on Thursday night.

Team manager English was satisfied, saying: "The gremlins for our skipper were well and truly laid tonight and it's obvious he's back to his brilliant best. The rest of the lads too all looked far more in control and again young Richie Worrall looked like he's determined to make this season his big year, and we're looking forward to see what he's capable of…. Great things I believe!"

Muamba's Collapse: Young 'Need Heart Tests'

Premiership footballer Fabrice Muamba's collapse during a game yesterday highlights the cardiac risks for young people, a heart charity has warned.

The shock caused by the player's sudden collapse and fight for life was underlined by his seemingly healthy condition as a young professional athlete.

Dr Steve Cox, director of screening at the charity Cardiac Risk in the Young (Cry), said that sport can significantly increase the risk of a cardiac incident if a person has an underlying condition.

He said: "Cry wants all young people to be aware of the importance of cardiac screening and to have the opportunity to be tested.

"We already provide screening services for a number of professional sporting bodies, including the English Institute of Sport, the RFU, RFL, LTA and a number of Football Association teams including Manchester City."

He added: "One in every 300 of the young people that Cry tests will be identified with a potentially life-threatening condition. "Every week in the UK, 12 apparently fit and healthy young people under the age of 35 die from undiagnosed cardiac conditions.

The charity said that 80% of apparently healthy 14- to 35-year-olds who die from cardiac issues will have shown no previous sign of heart defects.
Speaking on Sky News, Robert Hall, the Chief Executive of charity The Cardiomyopathy Association, said that cardiac conditions and symptoms could vary for each individual and were associated with sudden death syndrome.

"Situations like this are not just associated with exercise, they can happen while people are at rest."

Mitchell Cole, a former professional footballer for West Ham, who had to retire last year due to a heart condition, saw Muamba's collapse while watching the Spurs-Bolton game with friends.

Mr Cole said: "I was in shock just watching it. It's really distressing, that could have happened to me.

"I been one of the really lucky ones, I've come out of the sport and I'm still okay at the minute and hopefully Fabrice will be the same."

In 1995 John Marshall, a 16-year-old footballer from Lancashire, died the day before he was due to sign for Everton football club.

His sister Hayley Marshall said: "He was classed as one of the fittest in the country, and he was an elite athlete.

"He passed away suddenly and it came as a big shock to us all because he was so fit."
In June 2003, Cameroon footballer Marc-Vivien Foe died after collapsing with a heart attack during an international match in France.

The 28-year-old was treated on the pitch before being stretchered off and receiving further treatment, including mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and extra oxygen.
Medical staff tried to restart his heart for 45 minutes but without success.

We would like to add our name to all the well wishes who have sent their thoughts and prayers to Fabrice and his family. We wish him a full recovery.

We extend our prayers to all the families who have lost loved ones during this week to the undiagnosed cardiac conditions.

We would also like to send our thanks to the staff of the London Chest Hospital. Six years ago this coming Tuesday they certainly saved my life. A fantastic team all round. Mr Uppal, Ann, John, Rory, Josh, Jill, Pablo, Mervin and all the team on Leander, eternally grateful. Tony, Charlie, Matthew, my comrades in the corner hope you're well and to Phil who didn't make it - thinking of you.

Kult & Punk: St Pauli suffer a set back

The boys could not believe it. They took their Mums to watch St Pauli and what a shocker. The chaps were concerned about possible trouble and bad language, but thankfully their Mothers behaved - unlike last year.

FC Erzgebirge Aue 2-1 FC St. Pauli

Aue dealt FC St. Pauli's promotion prospects a major blow with a last-gasp victory over the Hamburg outfit on Sunday. A 91st-minute goal by Enrico Kern earned the hosts three more points towards Bundesliga 2 survival, and gave third-place Fortuna Düsseldorf the opportunity to pull four clear of St. Pauli with a win on Monday.

The guests from the north set out their stall from the off and Patrick Funk found the first chink in the Aue defensive wall after seven minutes, cutting in from the left and sending a bouncing shot just wide of home custodian Martin Männel's post. With the midway mark in the first half fast approaching, St. Pauli got the goal their early dominance had merited when Aue defender Dominic Rau, on his starting debut, totally misjudged a long kick-out from guest keeper Benedikt Pliquett. Florian Bruns gratefully took advantage, running through unmarked on Männel for an easy finish.
St. Pauli let it slip


For all their superiority on the ball, St. Pauli failed to capitalise further on that opener over the run of a one-sided first half. Ten minutes after the restart, they paid for that lack of punch when the hosts hauled themselves level on one of their rare forward forays. Halil Savran did well to shield and lay the ball off for Ronny König, and the striker scrambled home his eighth goal of the season despite the best efforts of Markus Thorandt and Patrick Funk to thwart him.

St. Pauli set off in search of the win all over again and Kevin Schlitte and Max Kruse had back-to-back chances blocked in the 72nd minute and with ten minutes remaining Deniz Naki, fresh off the bench, should have done better than fire Marius Ebbers' nod-down straight at Männel from well inside the box. The last word fell to another late sub however, as Kern nodded a Skerdilaid Curri free kick beyond Pliquett in added time to secure Aue an upset win.

Rebels 2: Rebels slow start gave them too much to do.

Thank you to our friends at the Rebels Media Team for providing todays Super Rugby match report.

The RaboDirect Rebels suffered a heart-breaking defeat to the Cheetahs on Sunday afternoon, as the visitors scored with the last play of the game to snatch a 33-26 win at AAMI Park.


Having fought their way back into the match from a slow start, the Rebels looked to have the upper hand going into the game’s dying stages, but with the scores tied as the siren sounded the Cheetahs made their final possession count and finished the game with a fantastic team try.


Captain Gareth Delve stayed positive despite the near miss.


“After defeats like that that really sting the team, things can go one of two ways – but what we expect to see from the team is that we tighten up and take that into the Force game on Friday,” said Delve.


“I’d say the boys can’t wait to get back out there now – it’s nice not to have to wait too long.


“This game’s going to come around quickly - we’ll freshen up, get our heads up, and go out there with an attacking mindset.”


The Cheetahs showed their intentions right from the kick-off, expertly moving the ball from one side of the field to the other with composed urgency. As the relentless opening assault threatened the Rebels’ try line, fly half Johan Goosen finally put winger Willie Le Roux through a gap to score in the second minute, and added the extras to give his side a dream start.


The Rebels regrouped however, and replied quickly with a score of their own. From a lineout just short of the Cheetahs’ line, they set up a strong rolling maul and won a penalty as the South Africans had to collapse it. Eschewing an easy three points in search of seven, the Rebels kicked for the corner again and this time hooker Adam Freier was able to burrow over from the back of another well-orchestrated maul. James O’Connor converted from wide on the right to level the scores.


Immediately following the restart however, Le Roux read the play as the Rebels looked to spread the ball wide and sped forward to intercept O’Connor’s attempted miss pass, scoring his second try with only 10 minutes on the clock. Goosen again converted to double the Cheetahs’ lead.


The two sides had enjoyed roughly equal possession in the opening quarter, but the Cheetahs looked much more controlled and dangerous – slick passing, strong running and great support allowed them to keep hold of the ball and frustrate the Rebels into conceding penalties at the breakdown. Goosen kicked two of his three shots at goal to stretch the lead to 20-7 after 23 minutes.


The Rebels were initially forced backwards by an on-rushing Cheetahs’ defence, and struggled to build any momentum, but a spark from O’Connor put more points on the board and gave his side the boost in confidence they needed.


From a lineout near the half-way line, the young fly half burst through a half-gap and deftly offloaded out of the tackle to the supporting Lachie Mitchell, who worked a two-on-one and gave the final pass only for the last defender Le Roux to cynically slap the ball down and prevent a certain try. He was sent to the sin-bin and O’Connor kicked a consolatory three points from in front of the posts.


The Rebels began to look more like the side that gave the Reds a scare last week in Brisbane, with Freier and captain Delve leading from the front with ball in hand. Some ill-advised kicking and unforced handling errors brought promising Rebels attacks to a premature end however, and they couldn’t capitalise on their numerical advantage before the whistle blew for half time.


The Rebels really took control of the game as the second half kicked off, earning early points from a penalty as the Cheetahs infringed after a great break from Julian Huxley. Holding the ball much better, the Rebels denied the Cheetahs a look-in for the first 10 minutes of the half, and after punching through the middle with their forwards the ball was spread quickly out to O’Connor on the left hand side, who skipped beautifully past two defenders to run in under the posts, converting his own try to level the scores and get the 11,522 crowd on their feet.


Buoyed by their young playmaker’s skilful finish, the Rebels lifted their attacking efforts once again, earning a further three shots at goal for O’Connor, who hit the post with his first long-range attempt before easily chipping over the other two in front of the posts. Goosen was able to keep his side in the hunt with two more penalties against the run of play however, bringing the score back to 26-all as the game entered the final quarter.


As the clock ticked down the visitors surged again, and the Rebels were forced into some desperate defence to hold out several rampaging Cheetahs attacks, but eventually they cracked under the pressure. Finishing the match just as they started it, the South Africans moved the ball from runner to runner across the pitch from deep in their own half, ultimately finding a gap in the tired Rebels defence and offloading to the fresh legs of replacement Piet van Zyl who dived over in the corner to break Melbourne hearts with the last play of the game.


Despite the close loss officials from Maroondah Rugby Club left AAMI Park with smiles on their faces as they pocketed $6,300 courtesy of RaboDirect as reward for their superb efforts to recruit 2012 members for the Club.

Gwrys Yn Kernow: Pirates edged out by a point, gives them the Blues.

Thank you to our friends at the Pirates, for providing us with Wolls Match report and Brian Tempest for the photo. Taking in full from the Cornish Pirates

Bedford Blues 26 Cornish Pirates 25

RFU Championship Play-Offs Round 2

Goldington Road Bedford

Friday 16th March

Phil Westren's Match Report

Having drawn their RFU Championship Pool 'B' opener at home to Leeds the previous weekend, the Cornish Pirates went oh so close to recording a keenly sought first win in Stage 2. Indeed, looking in fine fettle and leading 25-6 at half-time, there was every hope that they would return home victorious, but the defiant Blues had other ideas and made a terrific comeback that saw them snatch victory right at the very end.

There was an enthusiastic buzz about the floodlit Goldington Road ground when Ceiron Thomas got this game under way, although any travelling support from the far south west was inevitably sparse for such a Friday night fixture.

Playing down the slope the Pirates were clearly fired up keen to get off to a good start, and following a quick tap penalty from skipper and scrum-half Gavin Cattle, and with support given by flanker Phil Burgess they then went incredibly close to scoring the game's opening try, only for centre Andrew Suniula to unluckily spill the ball with the line at his mercy.

Holding territorial advantage, however, and with a number of penalties awarded their way, the Pirates went 3-0 up in the 10th after full-back Rob Cook was called forward to take a kick at goal.

From the restart hooker Dave Ward took off on a run that immediately took play back into Bedford's '22', and after support arrived and there a brief moment of settle flanker Phil Burgess and Suniula worked a 'scissors' that ended with the latter making no mistake to dot the ball down over the line for a try converted by Cook
This was a great start for the Pirates but the hosts soon pulled three points back with a penalty successfully slotted by their full-back and captain James Pritchard.
Bedford's enthusiastic supporters at last had something to smile about, but their facial images would soon change as Cook responded with his second successful penalty and then wing Matt Evans chased a kick ahead to outpace his fellow Canadian international Pritchard to suddenly score the Pirates second try. Cook converted well from out wide and with the scoreline reading 3-20 the Cornish team had made a mighty impression with less than half an hour gone.

Evans has shown himself to be gifted and committed player in his short time with the Pirates, and also possessing pace he soon sparked the burners once more to chase a chip down field that tested the defensive qualities of home winger Ollie Dodge.
Approaching half-time the Blues strived to raise the morale of their deflated supporters, with former Northampton Saints flanker Darren Fox making yardage and there a hint of sharpness shown by centre Henry Staff. Following a scrum, when the ball reached the hands of dangerous young wing Josh Bassett, the noise about at last rose to expected levels. Hopes were high that he could add to his tally as the Championship's top try-scorer, but as it worked out the Blues settled for three points from a penalty kicked by Pritchard.

With the scoreline reading 6-20, pre-match the Pirates would have accepted that as a half-time score, but they were in a mood to do better, and with the help of a wayward pass from Pritchard they scored their third try through makeshift wing Tom Kessell, who is normally a scrum-half but has been another whose efforts have been admired. Cook's conversion rebounded off the right post, but arriving at the break holding a 25-6 points lead almost belied belief.

The Pirates had shown immense character in such a positive first half showing, but they still had a test to pass in the second forty, as the Blues would come out bruised and determined, and so it proved.

A Pirate error all but from the start gifted Bedford the opportunity to make required yardage, and following a catch and drive it was not long before flanker Alex Rae was adjudged the scorer of a converted try which made it 13-25.
The home side introduced replacements as they looked to up the tempo still further., and after good work from scrum-half Luke Baldwin and Fox, a penalty from Pritchard pulled three more points back.

With over half an hour to go, and with 4th Official Richard Kelly having by now taken control of the whistle in place of a hobbling Mr. Tutty, the remainder of the game promised to be inevitably tense, and with Pritchard adding his fourth penalty to make it 19-25 it was surely time for the Pirates to get their act back together.
A terrific carry by No. 8 Ben Maidment was hopefully a sign that fortunes were about to change, despite Cook then missing with a lengthy penalty attempt at goal.
The Pirates kicking game had served them well in the first half, and when fly-half Ceiron Thomas worked the touchline from a penalty award it was important for them to keep possession and play with discipline and control.

There was a feeling that the Pirates were back on track, and the home crowd also sensed it. One more score for the Cornish side would surely seal a fine victory, and one so desperately sought, but either way they would likely end the game with just 14 men after replacement prop Carl Rimmer was yellow-carded.

Bedford looked to have taken all but immediate advantage playing with an extra man, with Bassett appearing to have scored, only for play to be pulled back when an assistant referee was spotted with his flag up.

The Pirates were forced to dig in deep as they displayed desperate and heroic defence, and they then went down to 13 men when Alan Paver was also sent to the sin bin, which led to uncontested scrums.

The prospect of a penalty try being awarded has passed through minds, but this was now less likely, with the only question being was there enough time left for Bedford to make numerical advantage count.

Well, in what was an amazing finish, Bedford made their comeback complete, snatching victory right at the very end after a try scored by replacement Brendan Burke was followed with a match-winning conversion struck by Pritchard.

The joyous reaction from Bedford's supporters said it all, them ultimately relieved and also ecstatic that their team had made it three wins from three against their respected opponents this season.

As for the Pirates, they were understandably desperately disappointed, but in present circumstances had performed far better than many had expected. That first 'W' in the play-offs has to date eluded them, which is a record they determinedly look to put right when they take on Rotherham Titans at the Mennaye Field next Sunday.

Bedford Blues:

J. Pritchard (capt), O. Dodge, H. Staff (B. Burke 52), I. Vass, J. Bassett
J. Sharp (J. Lennard 62), L. Baldwin (D. Veenendaal 56), J. Fisher (S. Harding 48), D. Fox, A. Rae
P. Tupai, S. Tomes (D. Barrell 48), B. Cooper (R. Reeves 48), N. Cochrane, S. Walsh.
Replacement (not used): C. Locke.

Cornish Pirates:

R. Cook, T. Kessell, G. Pointer, A. Suniula, M. Evans
C. Thomas, G. Cattle (capt), B. Maidment (R. Brits 73), P. Burgess, C. Morgan I
Nimmo, M. Smith (M. Myerscough 62), A.Paver, D. Ward, R. Storer (C. Rimmer 52).
Replacements (not used): R. Elloway, K. Marriott, A. Penberthy, R. McAtee.
Yellow cards: Rimmer, Paver.

Scorers:-
Bedford Blues
Tries: Rae, Burke
Conversions: Pritchard (2)
Penalties: Pritchard (4).

Cornish Pirates
Tries:Suniula, Evans, Kessell
Conversions:: Cook (2)
Penalties: Cook (2).

Referee: Michael Tutty (RFU)/Richard Kelly (4th Official)

Attendance: 3,377

Big in East London.

East London moves a step closer to getting a franchise in the UK's fastest growing sport on 21st March. If you want more information on how to sponsor or back the application contact us info@sporttrades.co.uk.

Kult & Punk: St Pauli keep the pressure on.

The boys returned to action in Zoe's Bar, after finding their way home from Munich via Sat Bav. An afternoon of guest ale ToeNail Clippings and a heavy game of darts, won by one leg, against Sinbad & The Arrows of Doom, meant that Andy James was again in charge of the Quill. The new outfits for Zoe's Bar Dart Team have arrived, with the catchy tag line of Chuck It, Love it.

A fine first-half strike from Moritz Volz ensured FC St. Pauli kept the heat on the leading trio in Bundesliga 2 with a 1-0 success at home to lowly Karlsruher SC.

Die Kiezkicker hardly shone against their relegation-threatened opponents in a match punctuated by poor passes on a bumpy pitch in Hamburg, but Volz produced a moment of inspiration to net the winner shortly before the break. The win takes St. Pauli to within a point of Fortuna Düsseldorf in the promotion play-off place, while Karlsruhe miss out on the chance to escape the automatic demotion spots.

Cagey first quarter

Clear favourites heading into the clash, St. Pauli unsurprisingly controlled proceedings on home turf with their visitors content to sit back and await the opportunity to counter. Max Kruse was sent sprinting down the left and fired wide from a tight angle on seven minutes, but the better chance fell to KSC moments later as young Hakan Calhanoglu squared for Mike Terrazzino, who was unable to finish with only goalkeeper Benedikt Pliquett to beat.

Subsequently Andre Schubert's home charges seemed bereft of ideas going forward. Misplaced passes were the order of the day as they attempted to lure their opponents forward by knocking the ball around at the back, a tactic KSC simply refused to fall for.

Volz hits a screamer

Still there was always the chance that St. Pauli's quality would lead to chances and one glaring opportunity was spurned just past the half-hour mark as Kevin Schindler blazed Florian Bruns' low cross over from barely six yards out. The Millerntor faithful were soon celebrating, however, as former Fulham man Volz strode forward from the back before sending a fine dipping volley over Orlishausen and into the net.

With the lead behind them, St. Pauli played with added fluency in the early second period, though long shots were the limit with Deniz Naki going closest on 55 minutes. KSC were largely on the back foot but ought to have drawn level when Steffen Haas popped up completely free in the box, but the midfielder failed to realise the space at his disposal and rushed a tame header at the untroubled goalkeeper.

Chances a rarity

Otherwise the traffic was largely one-way. Naki continued to prove a handful, skipping through the away defence just past the hour and teeing up substitute Marius Ebbers, who slammed narrowly wide of the far post from the right of the box. Bruns finally found space to test his range five minutes later, but his crisp effort was light work for Orlishausen.

Despite the best efforts of the visitors, chances remained a rarity in the latter stages and St. Pauli had little trouble hauling a scrappy but important three points over the line to extend their unbeaten streak to five games and stretch KSC's run to three straight defeats.

Sol y Futbol: Lanzarote return to the chase for final play-off spot

Ian reports as the Rojillos get back on track on their quest for a play-off spot

LANZAROTE 1 U.D. TELDE 0

U.D. Lanzarote are refusing to give up on their quest for the final playoff spot by beating a direct rival who had won their four previous matches.

Unfortunately most of the other results went in favour of the teams competing for that fourth spot finish which means Lanzarote are still trailing that playoff position by seven points with only eight games remaining.

As tradition when the Rojillos play at home they always seem to be out of the blocks first and this was no exception. In the eighth minute a cross from Vladi was met with a strong powerful header by Ayoze, the pint sized goalkeeper proved that his agility was spot on as he instinctively tipped the ball over the bar.

A few minutes later and Ayoze was clearly brought down inside the area and the referee had no hesitation in pointing to the spot. Jotha normally so lethal in from eight yards blasted his shot down the centre and the keeper reacted well and cleared the ball to safety.

The Gran Canarian team showed confidence following their 6-1 home win last week by defending well and then hitting their opponents on the break. In one instance Telde midfielder Echedey broke clear and only a good save from the Lanzarote keeper Ruymán prevented the visitors from going one up.

The final 15 minutes of the first half became more evenly balanced as the play began to settle and the tempo of the match slowed.

Lanzarote took control of possession in the early part of the second half but it was the Gran Canarians who had the first clear chance. The ball fell on the half volley to Echedey and from eight yards he rocketed in a strike but Ruymán had got his angles covered and made himself big to deflect his effort clear.

The Rojillos began to raise the tempo and the feeling of a goal was in the air. In the 69th minute a cross was pulled back from the far post and Rosmen easily tapped in from a couple of yards to give the Rojillos a well deserved 1-0 lead.

Lanzarote went straight back at the opposition opting for a second goal cushion rather than sit back and defend. Their positivity almost reaped rewards in the 81st minute when a wonder squared cross from Jotha across the face of goal was met by the lively Toñito, his strike was destined for the back of the net only for Telde keeper Oliver to produce another fine save with his feet.

Five minutes from time and Telde were reduced to ten men when sub Borja picked up his second yellow card for a foul on Ruymán. The Rojillos held onto their victory by playing the final minutes by holding onto the ball well and quickly closing down their opponents when losing possession.

Another fine home performance by Lanzarote which moves them within one point of fifth place but still a mighty seven points from fourth. Next week they must improve on their 10 point away tally out of a possible 48 when they face second from bottom and the only side to beat Lanzarote at home this season Real Sporting San José in Gran Canaria.

GOALS
1-0 min 69 Rosmen

In Memory of Frank Beazley.

You will notice that our blog title mast will turn black for the next week or so.

This is due to the sad passing of Frank Beazley. Frank is the Father of SportTrades Director Jason Beazley.

Mr Beazley passed away in the early hours of this morning after a long illness.

I'm sure you will join us all at Team SportTrades, in passing on our thoughts and prayers to Jason and the whole of his family at this sad time.

WSN Basketball: Double victory to end season.

Thank you to Dave Bushall and the team at Hull Wasps for updating us during the season. Here is to next season, when WSN Basketball returns to the Bonus Arena.

Hull Wasps completed their season with a two dramatic wins this weekend. An injury-hit Wasps side defeated Mold Magic 79-65, in front of their home crowd at the Bonus Arena on Saturday night before holding out for 66-64 victory at Bradford Maroons on the Sunday.

With fourth spot up for grabs, the Wasps set out this weekend looking to finish the job and set a new club record with thirty league points this season. But a sluggish first-half performance against the Magic made the task a lot more difficult as the home side found themselves down by ten points at half-time.

Missing their influential captain, John Brignell and forward James Rayner, the Wasps looked out of sorts in the first half. It was a different story in the second half with the Wasps gradually chipping away at the visitors to reduce the deficit to just three points at the end of the third, 53-50. The Wasps finally found top gear to rally past the visitors in the fourth to take the game at 79-65.

With only eight players available for selection, Matt Fawcett took his side to a Bradford Maroons side with something to prove. After a disappointing season for last year’s division three side, the Maroons were looking to restore some pride at the expense of the Wasps.

A good strong opening quarter for the Wasps gave them a narrow 27-22 lead. But a poor second quarter allowed the Maroons to come back and take a 41-38 lead before half-time. The Wasps hit back again though with a stunning third quarter performance to take the lead again at 53-47 to set up an exciting final quarter. The Wasps, looking tired without their full squad, held on for the narrow 66-64 win to complete the double over the Bradford Maroons.

“I can’t express enough how proud I am of my players” said Wasps coach Matt Fawcett following both games.

“The guys have been terrific all season and the results this weekend have finished off what has been probably our best season so far. We’ve looked tired this weekend and we knew it would be hard to overcome the disappointment of last week’s result [against Liverpool]. But the guys dug in there for both games to get the results.

“It was fantastic to come back the way we did against the Magic. They were a tough side and their league position doesn’t do them justice. They have some good players and they were a bit unlucky in the final quarter but we took control and it was nice to do it in front of our home fans. They deserve it the most.

“Against Bradford we knew it would be even harder. Injuries have hit us hard in the past couple of weeks, and the game last night took it out of a few of the players. We only had eight with us including myself so it was tough but we fought hard and got the win.”

With the Wasps winning both of their games this weekend, Burnley must win their final game to leapfrog the Wasps into fourth. Both teams would finish the season on thirty points each with the same win-loss ratio. However, with the head-to-head at one game each, Burnley’s winning margin was much bigger and therefore means that they will take fourth position if they win next Sunday.

“We’ve done all that we can now and we must hope Bradford can do us a favour next week when Burnley come here” continued Fawcett.

“It would be nice to finish in fourth. I think we deserve it. We’ve been there since Christmas but we knew that the result against Liverpool was poor and sadly it may mean we miss out. It’s been an amazing season though and we must remember that. We will come back even stronger next year and once again go for promotion."

Formula One 2012: guide to the grid

Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel will be very hard to beat again, but McLaren's Jenson Button could challenge them.

Thanks to our friends at Guardian Sport, article by Anthony Davidson posted in full.www.guardian.co.uk. Photograh of Sebastian Vettel by Albert Gea/REUTERS.

RED BULL

Sebastian Vettel 1 Mark Webber 2

Red Bull have had the dominant car and driver for the past two years and can clearly ride another wave this season. They're the ones with the targets on their back – they have the genius of designer Adrian Newey and in Sebastian Vettel a two-time world champion on absolute peak form. They are going to be very hard to beat but with the change in regulations, it's fair to ask can Newey get it right again? If he pushes the boundaries too far, reliability might be an issue in 2012.


McLAREN

Jenson Button 3 Lewis Hamilton 4

McLaren have a great driver pairing and Jenson Button can be the closest challenger to Vettel, as he was in the latter half of last season. But you never know with Lewis – he has the speed and a strong car that can take on the Red Bulls. It's a clever car and they've taken a few design risks with it – plenty of smart features to eke out the car's performance, such as the blown exhaust to aid downforce.


FERRARI

Fernando Alonso 5 Felipe Massa 6

There's always a lot of pressure on Ferrari, more than any other team on the grid. They are still waiting for a car to pose a clear challenge but after winter testing they are in a worse situation this year going into the new season than in the previous two seasons. It's too late now to do anything other than damage limitation going into Melbourne and they will have to wait until the European races for upgrades. Massa must up his game and Alonso will be looking to improve on last year's one win.


MERCEDES

Michael Schumacher 7 Nico Rosberg 8

Mercedes are probably in third spot at this stage, going into the Australian Grand Prix. They have a nice, tidy car and team principal Ross Brawn clearly knows what he's doing – the Merc has the most powerful engine on the grid, and they have read the new regulations well and taken a realistic approach. And in Michael Schumacher they have a former champion who is beginning to enjoy himself back in Formula One. He may not be the driver of old but he is still ruthless and the hardest-working driver on the grid. My pick for 2012's dark horses.


LOTUS

Kimi Raikkonen 9 Romain Grosjean 10

It's good to see former world champion Kimi Raikkonen (left) back after his break driving rally cars. They were clearly missing Robert Kubica at the tail end of last season when he was injured. Hiring a top driver can really give a team a boost but it has yet to be seen how race rusty Kimi will be – there's always an element of doubt when a driver takes a sabbatical. They had a decent car for the first half of last season and clearly know how to design a car but perhaps lack the resources to maintain that momentum all year.


FORCE INDIA

Paul di Resta 11 Nico Hülkenberg 12

Force India are probably behind Mercedes in terms of performance – they have a good car, realistic expectations and a strong Mercedes engine. That all adds up to possibly the surprise package on the grid – as they were last year when they were able to challenge the Mercedes works team, scoring three sixth-place finishes and scoring points at most races, which was impressive for such a small outfit. They are certainly the most improved team in Formula One and have come a long way since their days as the Spyker team back in 2007.


SAUBER

Kamui Kobayashi 14 Sergio Pérez 15

Sauber have been struggling a bit and although they posted some fast times in testing we've seen that from them before. They were strong in the first half of last season but did not maintain their challenge after Pérez crashed in Monaco qualifying and then had to sit out the Canadian Grand Prix. This year's Ferrari-powered car is looking a bit basic to me and it seems like a lack of funding means they will be ranked with the other smaller teams on this year's grid. In fact I would be surprised if they mounted a serious attack on the midfield pack this season.


TORRO ROSSO

Daniel Ricciardo 16 Jean-Eric Vergne 17

They finished last season strongly so are one of the teams, like Force India, going from strength to strength. They have a great new driver pairing – you can expect fireworks between these two. Ricciardo and Vergne will be fighting for Mark Webber's Red Bull seat for next season and the pressure is on for them to deliver, to be the next Sebastian Vettel coming through, and they certainly have the most potential as any driver pairing on this season's grid. Their testing times were pretty good – so watch this space.


WILLIAMS

Pastor Maldonado 18 Bruno Senna 19

Williams were disappointing last year – they didn't have a fast car and scored just five points all year – and hopefully they will have a better car this season with new technical chief Mike Coughlan from McLaren making an impact. It would be so sad to see a legendary team picking up scraps again. Without the right funding levels in Formula One, however, it's difficult to spend time adapting the car to new regulations. Williams (above) hope to top the midfield pack but I've seen nothing so far to suggest a step forward from last year.


CATHERHAM

Heikki Kovalainen 20 Vitaly Petrov 21

Tony Fernandes's rebranded team were among the first to launch their new car and are making steady progress – hopefully this year will join the tail end of the midfield pack. They did well in keeping above last year's new teams – HRT and Virigin – to score points. Certainly a driver like Heikki Kovalainen (right) will be wringing every last ounce of performance out of their tidy car and could well expect to score their first podium this year. They now have Kers on the 2012 Renault-powered car so that will aid its performance


HRT

Pedro de la Rosa 22 Narain Karthikeyan 23

The Spanish newcomers were late launching their new car for their second season in Formula One and so were not ready for testing – that's not the best position to be in but at least they have made it to round one, unlike last season's late start. The 2012 car doesn't look that bad but I fear it will be an uphill battle for them again this season. The experience of De la Rosa – a Spaniard with 87 grands prix under his belt – will help steer them in the right direction but only so much can be achieved on limited funding in Formula One.


MERUSSIA

Timo Glock 24 Charles Pic 25

A name change and new a driver in the shape of Charles Pic, fresh from GP2, but I feel sorry for the Frenchman as he will go into Melbourne without having spent any time in a Formula One car as it kept failing the pre-season crash tests. Merussia are going to be fighting just to get on the grid at Melbourne so I wouldn't expect too much at this stage. It's going to be painful watching Pic coming to terms with the car: it's impossible to start in an F1 car that is a complete unknown.

Gwrys Yn Kernow: Pirates draw in Play offs Round 1

Thank you to our friends at Pirates for providing us with Wolls match report and photo.



Cornish Pirates 14 Leeds Carnegie 14

RFU Championship Play-Offs Round 1

Saturday 10th March 2012

Woll's Match Report

Despite the fine, spring like conditions providing the ideal back drop for this first round of the play offs; the feeling at the end of proceedings was one of disappointment in the Pirate camp.

The significance of having parked themselves into a second spot berth with their fourth draw of the season was lost as a rule. A feeling confirmed post match, by an underwhelmed Chris Stirling who was clearly un-impressed with just about every aspect of his side’s overall performance.

The prospect of heading up to Goldington Road in the immediate aftermath consequently looks rather daunting. Throw in yet another back, in the shape of Tom Cooper, booked in to the treatment room after his 55 th minute withdrawal for what appears to be knee ligament damage; and suddenly that hill in Bedford suddenly takes on Matterhorn proportions.

We knew it would be tough today and deal closer than when the sides last clashed here in Cornwall back in September. The narrow loss at Headingley in December further backed this pre match assessment; but with the Pirates unable to really function anywhere near their best, Leeds were in no small way let off the hook.

And yet it was the Yorkshiremen who were out of the blocks quickest with the first of Ford’s three penalties, handing them the opening score with less than two minutes on the clock.

The Pirates quickly responded and threatened from the restart to redress this early setback. Kessell’s impeding off the ball was spotted by touch judge, Mr Parker-Sedgemore, who alerted Mr Knowles immediately of the indiscretion.

Bizarrely, Penberthy had to await finding touch, whilst the eagle eye man on the side-line rather sheepishly trotted back towards the end that the Pirates were playing towards; intent as he was to check out the Old Western National Corner instead.

It mattered little however as Pointer then stormed into the Scoreboard Corner shortly after to get the Pirates on the board. Cook duly made it seven with his conversion, from the exact same spot he’d missed from with a penalty attempt just before.

The lead didn’t last for long however as, with errors creeping into both sides’ performances, Leeds pounced after some good work by the impressive Barrow created the space for McColl to canter in at the Newlyn Gate Corner, for what was to be their only try of the afternoon.

Ford’s sighting this time wasn’t in gear and so a point in it was how it was to remain until the break. This due mainly to a catalogue of poor decision making by the home side and this regardless of their pack’s overwhelming superiority at the scrum.

Leeds’ insistence on slowing down play that was already at a snail’s pace, didn’t help either. But then with points on the road likely to be a deciding factor; why not?

Just as well then that Pointer’s sliced kick directly into touch finally brought a frustrating half to its natural and apt conclusion.

At the resumption, it was the hosts who this time began the most sprightly winning as they did a string of penalties that put them well into the visitors 22 on a couple of occasions.

The Yorkshire pack wobbled in tandem, but with Burrows bailing them out on more than one occasion, they survived this spell with their lead intact. Penberthy’s deflected drop goal attempt being the nearest the Cornishmen got to taking the initiative back.

To their credit the Pirates didn’t let heads drop and having remained without any points for the thick end of fifty minutes; the momentum finally fell into their hands.

Kessell came agonisingly close with a piercing run that fell a couple of metres short and the next spell of pressure had begun.

Up stepped the forwards who then battered their opposite numbers with a succession of scrums that finally wore Mr Knowles’s patience thin.

The recently introduced Denton invitation to get straight back off, was the first sign of the officials impatience. The penalty try was the next, and with the one man advantage the game was surely for the taking.

If only. No sooner were their noses in front and the scent of an important win up the proverbial nostrils, then Ford had levelled things with his side’s only real other contribution to the game.

Level pegging it had to be then, and so it remained as the Pirates huffed and puffed before finally creating one last chance for Pointer to win it from 53 metres out.

It wasn’t to be and perhaps given some of the inaccuracy on display this was perhaps the fitting way to end a below par game all round.

Maybe Ward’s and Young’s post match exchange of words bodes at least for a much more up to scratch return at Headingley next month. We certainly hope so although as the cliché bangs on about: ”there’s an awful lot of rugby to be played before then”. More perhaps than was on display today!

Cornish Pirates
15 R. Cook 14 T. Kessell 13 G. Pointer 12 T. Cooper (22 A. Suniula 55mins) 11 M. Evans 10 A. Penberthy (21 C. Thomas 74mins) 9 G. Cattle (capt) 8 K. Marriott (19 B. Maidment 50mins) 7 C. Morgan 6 D. Ewers (20 P. Burgess 50mins) 5 I. Nimmo 4 M. Smith 3 A. Paver (L. Fairbrother 67mins) 2 D. Ward 1 C. Rimmer(18 P. Andrew 65mins)

Replacements: un-used 17 T. Cowan-Dickie

Tries: Pointer, Penalty
Cons: Cook 2

Leeds Carnegie
15 S. McColl 14 M. Stephenson (22 J. Davies 20mins) 13 I. Thornley 12 S. Barrow 11 P. Lucock 10 J. Ford 9 W. Cliff 1 S. Lockwood (18 D. Young 49mins)( 3 H. Aulika 78min) 2 A. Titterrell (c) (16 P. Nilsen 44mins) 3 H. Aulika (17 G. Denman 55mins) 4 J. Pendlebury (20 D. Paul 61mins) 5 D. Hemingway (19 T. Denton 45mins) 6 E. Williamson 7 J. Rowan 8. R. Burrows

Replacements: un-used 21 C. Hampson

Tries: McColl
Pens: Ford 3

Yellow: Denton

Match Officials
Referee: Paul Knowles
Assistants: Richard Parker- Sedgemore, Michael Tutty
Official 4: Andy Bickle
Assessor: Jerry Wallis

Attendance: 1953


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

Rebels 2: Rebels push champions all the way

As you may be aware this is our 2nd season following Super Rugby and the Melbourne Rebels – hence Rebels2. Thanks to our friends at www.melbourne rebels.com.au for providing the post by Andrew Stevenson in full.

The RaboDirect Rebels pushed reigning champions the Reds all the way to the final whistle in a gritty encounter in Brisbane, but despite a hugely-improved performance their opponents came from behind to win 11-6.

The Queensland crowd was stunned into a rare silence for much of the match, as the Rebels dominated possession and territory, were fierce in defence and created several great attacking opportunities.

Leading the Reds for almost three quarters of the match, the Melbourne side made their 53-3 loss in the same fixture last year seem a distant memory. Captain Gareth Delve said his team’s brave performance showed just how far the team had come during its short time in the FxPro Super Rugby competition.

“To push the champions at their home ground in front of a great crowd, to come that close and still be disappointed shows we’re going in the right direction,” said Delve.

“On the whole we’re happy, it’s a big step forward, and it sets us up for two big home games now in front of a good crowd at AAMI Park.”

The Rebels took the fight to the Reds right from the start, with strong running from Luke Jones and Tom Chamberlain in particular and much better ball retention giving the Rebels quick ball in dangerous attacking positions deep in their opponents’ territory.

Spirited work at the set-piece from Melbourne also surprised the Reds, as the Rebels won early penalties and turnovers in an area few had expected them to contest.
With the perfect platform to test the Reds defence, the Rebels backline shifted the ball wide and regularly broke the gain line, forcing their opponents into conceding penalties to halt the constant attacking threat.

James O’Connor slotted both of his attempts at goal to give his side a 6-0 lead.
The Rebels were a side transformed in defence, missing just six tackles in the first half to the Reds’ 12.

Constantly under pressure from Melbourne’s speed off the line, and pinned back in their half with some sensible tactical kicking from Danny Cipriani and O’Connor, the Reds just couldn’t find their rhythm in the opening stanza.

Mike Harris also uncharacteristically missed his first kick at goal, but got his second just before half-time to bring the score back to 6-3, although the momentum was all with the Rebels.

It took 50 minutes for the titleholders to hit their straps, holding the ball through 10 phases to finally create space for full-back Luke Morahan in the corner, but with Kurtley Beale’s last-ditch defence outstanding all game, he dragged his opposite man into touch as he went over the line.

Beale’s hard work was then undone however, as the Reds stole the lineout which followed and quickly spread it to the other side of the field for winger Dom Shipperley to score. Harris missed the conversion, but knocked over another penalty to give the Reds an uneasy five-point lead at 11-6 with 15 minutes to play.

Queensland showed the skill and composure to close out the game, protecting the ball with tight runners around the breakdown and kicking for territory, but the Rebels never tired.

Attacking until the final whistle, they just couldn’t make their chances count, and had to settle for a fine losing performance instead of the heroic victory they came so close to earning

World in Union: Round 17 review of the Aviva Premiership

Thank you to our friends at premiership.com and Aviva, for providing us with the following post.

Another cracking Aviva Premiership weekend saw Harlequins and Saracens win at the top, while London Wasps picked up a crucial victory at the bottom.London Wasps director of rugby Dai Young paid tribute to his players after they overcame the loss of England scrum-half Joe Simpson to end their nine-match losing run in Aviva Premiership Rugby.

The crucial 18-13 derby victory over London Irish put Wasps eight points clear of Newcastle, who had cut the gap at the bottom to four points with their 9-9 home draw against leaders Harlequins less than 24 hours earlier.

Saracens rugby director Mark McCall hailed fly-half Charlie Hodgson's kicking as "outstanding" as the reigning champions beat Northampton 18-12 to close on Aviva Premiership Rugby leaders Harlequins.

Saracens now trail Quins by four points thanks to six penalties from six attempts from England stand-off Hodgson.
McCall said: "Charlie was outstanding. His place-kicking was exemplary and his game-management tremendous, particularly when we came under pressure in the first half.

"All Charlie can do in terms of England selection is what he did, perform to a high standard. He has got himself back in contention for the England squad and England now have a decision to make with both Charlie and Toby Flood fit again and available."

LeicesterTigers boss Richard Cockerill showered praise on England half-backs Toby Flood and Ben Youngs after the Tigers crushed Aviva Premiership Rugby play-off rivals Gloucester at Welford Road.

Scrum-half Youngs scored one try and helped create two others, while Flood booted 11 points and kept Gloucester on the back foot through his masterly tactical kicking in miserable conditions.

"Ben and Toby came back to us on Thursday, and we wanted them to enjoy it today and have a crack," Cockerill said. "We know they are quality players, and I thought they did some fantastic things. Their attitude was really good."

Exeter Chiefs head coach Rob Baxter felt his players had set the record straight on two fronts with Saturday's 37-12 win over Sale.

The home side bounced back from a 12-9 loss to Bath to score five tries and keep their unbeaten run against Sale going, moving up to fifth in the Aviva Premiership Rugby table in the process.

Baxter said: "I think the players wanted to put the record straight after the relatively close loss to Bath, but they also wanted to put the record straight after what happened at Sale when many felt that the Sharks had thrown it away.

"Not many talked about how well Exeter played for the last 60 minutes up there to come away with a win. So we felt that we had a point to prove and we wanted to show that we could score tries.

"We are a good rugby side, we have got ambition, we are looking up the table and hunting things down rather than worrying about other stuff. We showed that in this game."

Bath coach Brad Davis hailed a mature performance from rookie fly-half Tom Heathcote after a 36-17 win over Worcester put the west country club within touching distance of a Heineken Cup qualification spot.

Donald is currently ruled out by a knee ligament injury and may not be back until early April, but Davis warned that he is not going to walk back into the team.

"Stephen's going to have to fight his way back into that number 10 shirt," Davis said. "The guy who's there at the moment is going from strength to strength and learning the game.

"The crowd here at the Rec know their stuff and when Tommy's on the ball they get excited about what he does for the team. He's a level-headed guy but he was terrific again today."

Harlequins boss Conor O'Shea said that his side struggled to impose themselves on Newcastle in a feisty clash at Kingston Park.

O'Shea was not a happy man after an ill-tempered match in which Newcastle had led 9-6 going into the dying seconds despite having had two players sin-binned during the game.

"We had to scrap and the atmosphere was febrile out there," said O'Shea. "We wanted pace in the game and we couldn't get that. All credit to the Falcons in what was a very physical game but on more than one occasion, I think the line was crossed.

"I think Newcastle overstepped that mark. It was tough and uncompromising and I just hope Newcastle stick to not going over the edge."


Exeter Chiefs head coach Rob Baxter felt his players had set the record straight on two fronts with Saturday's 37-12 win over Sale.