Month: December 2022

IT IS HARD not to love Sonny Bill Williams when you watch him play rugby. His dazzling array of offloads and bone-crunching tackles are fun to watch and there is a bit of buzz whenever he gets the ball. Boxing SBW is the opposite to rugby SBW. He had his seventh professional fight last night and maintained his 100% record with a unanimous decision win over Chauncy Welliver but the standard of opponents he has faced…

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THE CHALLENGERS HAVE made their bow, now the champions enter the arena. Joe Schmidt’s Ireland are in Rome to take on Italy at the Stadio Olimpico (KO 14.30, 15.30 local). Preparations haven’t exactly been ideal for the defence of the title: from minor disruptions to frost-hit training schedules to the more visible problems like Jonathan Sexton’s concussion. Sexton has not played or taken part in contact training sessions since a clash of heads with Rob…

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https://vine.co/v/O0hK92EwAIn OOPS! Host Daire O’Brien left his panellists audibly amused on Against The Head tonight, after he accidentally referred to Donal Lenihan “chilling out with two bags of Coke”. The presenter quickly corrected himself, saying “bottles of Coke,” but the damage was already done, leaving Alan Quinlan in particular struggling to suppress a smile. h/t @luketyrel Analysis: What the hell was Sean O’Brien doing to the England maul?>Wales’ Sam Warburton expected to face Ireland in Six…

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IRELAND ARE MORE familiar with Warren Gatland’s methods than most, but then again there are rarely major surprises against Wales. With their direct ball carriers from set-piece, around-the-corner phase play, the kicking game of Dan Biggar and the chop-tackle-and-jackal threat of their back row, Wales are a highly identifiable unit. That blueprint has helped the Welsh to two Grand Slams under Gatland, while the Kiwi also guided the Lions to their 2013 success in Australia…

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THIS ARTICLE FOLLOWS on from an earlier piece analysing Paul O’Connell’s try against Scotland, which you can read here. ******************** Many had been waiting for Ireland to open their attacking game up and take a few more risks, and that happened to an extent in Saturday’s Six Nations-clinching win over Scotland at Murrayfield. Sean O’Brien holds the Six Nations trophy aloft at Murrayfield. Source: Dan Sheridan/INPHO As we saw with Paul O’Connell’s opening try and…

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1. Danny Burch and Oney Lorcan defeated Heavy Machinery 2. Punishment Martinez defeated Rick Boog 3. MJ Jenkins defeated Aliyah 4. Jaxson Ryker defeated Brennan Williams 5. Lacey Lane and Chelsea Green defeated Reina Gonzalez and Vanessa Borne 6. Matt Riddle defeated Keith Lee 7. Shayna Baszler and Jessamyn Duke defeated Kairi Sane and Mia Yim 8. Aleister Black defeated Riddick Moss

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1. Teruaki Kanemitsu Comeback Match Ren Narita and Teruaki Kanemitsu vs. Shota Umino and Ayato Yoshida (Time-Limit Draw) 2. Six-Man Tag Team Match CHAOS (SHO, YOH, and Rocky Romero) defeated Toa Henare, Tiger Mask IV, and Jushin Thunder Liger 3. CHAOS (Hirooki Goto and Tomohiro Ishii) defeated Suzuki-Gun (Takashi Iizuka and Minoru Suzuki) 4. Los Ingobernables de Japon (SANADA and EVIL) defeated The Elite (Chase Owens and Yujiro Takahashi) 5. Six-Man Tag Team Match Los…

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‘MY SONS THOUGHT the storyline about my brother turning out to be my son was ridiculously funny.’ Jo Dow is the kind of actor who has spent many an afternoon taking advice from old ladies in the street about what his next course of on-screen action on screen ought to be. One of the sons he speaks about in the above fruit of the Birmingham Mail archives is Lorcan. The younger Dow has stood out…

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FRANCE CENTRE GAEL Fickou will miss the rest of the season after damaging the interior cruicate ligament in his left knee Toulouse general manager Guy Noves told AFP on Sunday. It is an injury that could also endanger his hopes of playing for France in the World Cup Noves said the 21-year-old — who put in a sparkling performance for France in the 55-35 defeat by England in their Six Nations clash last weekend —…

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ALISON MILLER HAS been named the Sky Sports sportswomen of the month for March after winning the public vote by a landslide margin. Miller [left] with Ireland teammates Paula Fitzpatrick and Nora Stapleton. Source: Dan Sheridan/INPHO The Connacht wing was integral as Ireland secured the Six Nations title last month, scoring a hattrick in the final-day 73-3 hammering of Scotland. Miller also scored a try in the vital away win against Wales, and has been…

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