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South Africa defeat pours water on England’s Rugby World Cup claims South Africa defeat pours water on England’s Rugby World Cup claims
(about 2 hours later)
England had talked up the autumn rugby union Tests as a chance to show off their World Cup credentials, but another deflating Twickenham defeat – this time by South Africa – put the aspirations of the 2015 hosts squarely into perspective. “You cannot fault the players for honesty, but we needed to be smarter,” bemoaned England’s coach Stuart Lancaster after a 31-28 loss. South Africa’s own strategy was hardly rocket science: “We adjusted our game plan because it rained before the start,” revealed their coach Heyneke Meyer. In Edinburgh, Scotland ran a second-string New Zealand close but eventually went down to a fighting 16-24 defeat. Elsewhere, Wales clung on for a nervy 17-13 victory over Fiji, Ireland strolled to a 49-7 win over Georgia and France closed out a tense 29-26 success over Australia.England had talked up the autumn rugby union Tests as a chance to show off their World Cup credentials, but another deflating Twickenham defeat – this time by South Africa – put the aspirations of the 2015 hosts squarely into perspective. “You cannot fault the players for honesty, but we needed to be smarter,” bemoaned England’s coach Stuart Lancaster after a 31-28 loss. South Africa’s own strategy was hardly rocket science: “We adjusted our game plan because it rained before the start,” revealed their coach Heyneke Meyer. In Edinburgh, Scotland ran a second-string New Zealand close but eventually went down to a fighting 16-24 defeat. Elsewhere, Wales clung on for a nervy 17-13 victory over Fiji, Ireland strolled to a 49-7 win over Georgia and France closed out a tense 29-26 success over Australia.
Belgium run into Welsh wallBelgium run into Welsh wall
The latest slew of Euro 2016 football qualifiers threw up relatively few surprises, Wales producing one of the standout results by holding much-fancied Belgium to a draw in Brussels. World champions Germany again struggled to impress, managing only four goals against the cannon fodder of Gibraltar: “I am everything but satisfied with this,” sniffed German coach Joachim Löw. For solace he could at least look to Claudio Ranieri, sacked as Greece coach after suffering the ultimate horror of a 1-0 home defeat by the Faroe Islands. England plodded to a soporific 3-1 win over Slovenia, while a wonder goal from Shaun Maloney gave Scotland victory over the Republic of Ireland in a predictably feisty encounter in Glasgow.The latest slew of Euro 2016 football qualifiers threw up relatively few surprises, Wales producing one of the standout results by holding much-fancied Belgium to a draw in Brussels. World champions Germany again struggled to impress, managing only four goals against the cannon fodder of Gibraltar: “I am everything but satisfied with this,” sniffed German coach Joachim Löw. For solace he could at least look to Claudio Ranieri, sacked as Greece coach after suffering the ultimate horror of a 1-0 home defeat by the Faroe Islands. England plodded to a soporific 3-1 win over Slovenia, while a wonder goal from Shaun Maloney gave Scotland victory over the Republic of Ireland in a predictably feisty encounter in Glasgow.
India whitewash Sri LankaIndia whitewash Sri Lanka
Top-ranking at home but just rank on the road, India reaffirmed their reputation as the enigmas of world cricket after completing a 5-0 one-day whitewash of Sri Lanka. It was a series notable largely for Rohit Sharma’s world record one-day score of 264 in the fourth match in Kolkata – personally outscoring the entire Sri Lanka team by 13 runs – but also for the absence of the West Indies, who pulled out after a potentially ruinous dispute over wages. You’d think India might have gone a bit easier on the Sri Lankans for agreeing to stand in at such short notice. In Australia the one-day series against South Africa stood finely poised at 1-1 after two matches.Top-ranking at home but just rank on the road, India reaffirmed their reputation as the enigmas of world cricket after completing a 5-0 one-day whitewash of Sri Lanka. It was a series notable largely for Rohit Sharma’s world record one-day score of 264 in the fourth match in Kolkata – personally outscoring the entire Sri Lanka team by 13 runs – but also for the absence of the West Indies, who pulled out after a potentially ruinous dispute over wages. You’d think India might have gone a bit easier on the Sri Lankans for agreeing to stand in at such short notice. In Australia the one-day series against South Africa stood finely poised at 1-1 after two matches.
NZ claim Four Nations crownNZ claim Four Nations crown
New Zealand seized the opportunity to put one over the old enemy, closing out a nailbiting 22-18 win over Australia in the rugby league Four Nations final in Wellington despite a late Wallabies surge. Shaun Johnson was the hero for the hosts, scoring a try midway through the second half that turned the tide of the game in their favour. “We’ve got a great young team and the future’s bright,” the New Zealand coach Stephen Kearney said afterwards. “Australia are going to keep coming back at us and the challenge is for us to keep improving.” New Zealand seized the opportunity to put one over the old enemy, closing out a nailbiting 22-18 win over Australia in the rugby league Four Nations final in Wellington despite a late Kangaroos surge. Shaun Johnson was the hero for the hosts, scoring a try midway through the second half that turned the tide of the game in their favour. “We’ve got a great young team and the future’s bright,” the New Zealand coach Stephen Kearney said afterwards. “Australia are going to keep coming back at us and the challenge is for us to keep improving.”