Sport news

• Paula Radcliffe's ordeal is proof that high-profile athletics is now being destroyed

  12-09-2015 23:58
  
  OLIVER HOLT: The ordeal that Paula Radcliffe faced this week was not evidence of a media witch-hunt. The reality is that what Radcliffe went through was the clearest sign yet that, at this point in athletics’s history, the cheats are winning.
  
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• Stuart Lancaster calls on nation to back England at Rugby World Cup like they did when the football team shone at Euro 96

  12-09-2015 23:53
  
  OLIVER HOLT: Stuart Lancaster sees the fervour that the competition could generate as the weapon that might win England the World Cup. Lancaster's vision for this World Cup is not just an English victory.
  
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• New Zealand will be racing certainties If Steve Hansen gets his way

  12-09-2015 23:53
  
  Steve Hansen used to dream of being a jockey and racing remains a favourite hobby. He believes a background in training horses has helped him prepare his thoroughbreds in black.
  
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• MARTIN JOHNSON: Sacrifice? Shut up and get on with it

  12-09-2015 23:52
  
  OLIVER HOLT: It is 10 years now since he retired as a player but Johnson has not changed. Not one jot. England's World Cup-winning captain is, and always has been, happy in his own skin.
  
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• SAM WARBURTON: I will not be defined by red card against France in 2011

  12-09-2015 23:51
  
  Sam Warburton has accepted the 'what if?' question will haunt him until the day he dies. 'I'll be doing a Q&A session when I'm 60 and someone will ask me about that red card,' he says.
  
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• England in a pool of death? No, with Australia, Wales and Fiji, it's a pool of opportunity 

  12-09-2015 23:51
  
  SIR CLIVE WOODWARD: England might find themselves in the dreaded Pool of Death but I prefer to call it the Pool of Opportunity. being drawn against Wales, Australia and Fiji.
  
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• US Open 2015: Flavia Pennetta beats Roberta Vinci to win women's singles final – as it happened | Les Roopanarine

  12-09-2015 23:48
  
  Flavia Pennetta beats Roberta Vinci 7-6 (7-4), 6-2Read Kevin Mitchell’s match report from Flushing Meadows 10.48pm BSTSo that was the US Open women’s tournament that was. We’ve seen the demise of Serena’s tilt at the grand slam, the emergence of Johanna Konta, a renascent Victoria Azarenka, a tremendous run to the last eight from Venus Williams, and a wonderful sequence of quarter- and semi-finals, all of which went the distance. The final didn’t quite do justice to
  
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• Manuel Pellegrini: Paul Pogba still has plenty to learn to be in same class as Yaya Toure 

  12-09-2015 23:39
  
  JOE BERNSTEIN: Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini does not think £60 million-rated Juventus star Paul Pogba, 22, compares with his own powerhouse midfielder Yaya Toure.
  
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• Steven Naismith proves his worth as Everton cover boy nets hat-trick in outstanding display against Chelsea 

  12-09-2015 23:37
  
  Perhaps it was an omen. Standing proud on the front page of the matchday programme, with the Saltire as a backdrop, there was Steven Naismith.
  
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• Wayne Rooney request a sign of tension in dressing room over Louis van Gaal style, says Rio Ferdinand  

  12-09-2015 23:36
  
  ROB DRAPER: When Wayne Rooney and Michael Carrick asked Louis van Gaal to loosen his training regime, the tension in the dressing room had been building for at least six months.
  
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• Slavisa Jokanovic can take on Premier League at last as former Chelsea player returns to Stamford Bridge as manager of Maccabi Tel Aviv 

  12-09-2015 23:36
  
  ADAM CRAFTON - EXCLUSIVE: As his Watford side trooped out of Stamford Bridge following a defeat by Chelsea, Slavisa Jokanovic left the stadium reinvigorated by a from Jose Mourinho.
  
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• Rio Ferdinand: It would be tougher to choose Manchester United now... you want to win trophies! 

  12-09-2015 23:36
  
  ROB DRAPER: Manchester United’s return to the Champions League this week represents something of a conundrum for Rio Ferdinand.
  
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• Sunderland boss Dick Advocaat refuses to praise striker Jermain Defoe ahead of Tottenham clash at the Stadium of Light

  12-09-2015 23:31
  
  Dick Advocaat is refusing to praise Jermain Defoe – or play him in his preferred position – despite the Sunderland striker scoring five times this season.
  
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• Newcastle manager Steve McClaren is altering his approach with Aleksandar Mitrovic banned for three games

  12-09-2015 23:31
  
  Steve McClaren admits he and his staff will have to change their approach with suspended striker Aleksandar Mitrovic. Newcastle play West Ham on Monday.
  
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• Leicester City’s Riyad Mahrez is fast fulfilling his late father’s dreams

  12-09-2015 23:30
  
  Mahrez’s physique meant few coaches believed he would make it as a footballer despite his undoubted skill and speed but the Algeria World Cup star has dumbfounded the doubters by working hard and showing courageAhmed Mahrez was 54 when a heart condition took his life. His second son, Riyad, was 15 at the time. That was 2006 and the distraught teenager reacted in the way that would have made his father most proud, hardening his focus to make the most out of the talent that Ahmed had done mu
  
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• Jack Rodwell: Older and wiser Sunderland midfielder finally ready to get back on track

  12-09-2015 23:30
  
  Towards the end of a conversation with Jack Rodwell at Sunderland’s training ground, the talk reverts to his beginning: Everton, David Moyes and the days when Rodwell was the next big teenage thing coming through the Goodison Academy.
  
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• Jack Rodwell: Older and wise the Sunderland midfielder finally ready to get back on track

  12-09-2015 23:30
  
  Towards the end of a conversation with Jack Rodwell at Sunderland’s training ground, the talk reverts to his beginning: Everton, David Moyes and the days when Rodwell was the next big teenage thing coming through the Goodison Academy.
  
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• Harry Kane: I love learning from Wayne Rooney - maybe he can help me break England scoring record, says Tottenham striker

  12-09-2015 23:30
  Wayne Rooney's goalscoring record is less than a week old, but already Harry Kane is targeting it, and hopes Rooney can help him succeed.
  
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• Ghana want to convince promising Leicester striker Joe Dodoo to pledge his international future to them over England 

  12-09-2015 23:30
  
  Ghana want to persuade Leicester striker Joe Dodoo to pledge his future to them ahead of England.
  
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• Andre Greipel wins stage seven of the Tour of Britain in Ipswich

  12-09-2015 23:30 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  ANDRE GREIPEL sprinted to victory in Ipswich yesterday at the end of the Aviva Tour of Britain's longest stage at 227km.
  
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• Liverpool lining up £4m Moi Gomez after youngster falls out of favour at Villarreal

  12-09-2015 23:26
  
  Liverpool are monitoring Villarreal prospect Moi Gomez. The 21-year-old left winger has been loaned out to Getafe this season after falling out with coach Marcelino.
  
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• Flavia Pennetta wins US Open with straight-sets victory over Roberta Vinci

  12-09-2015 23:21
  
  • Pennetta beats Vinci 7-6, 6-2
  • Champion announces immediate retirement on courtIn a weekend of turmoil, all anyone could be certain of about the women’s final of the US Open was that the winner would not be Serena Williams but would be fluent in Italian – and not a soul predicted that Flavia Pennetta, in halting English, would turn her victory speech into a farewell to tennis.When Marion Bartoli decided to quit the game after winning Wimbledon in 2013, she was aching phy
  
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• 'Some of the players came to me to complain that they had to walk 50 yards for a massage.' Steven Gerrard on moaning of England players at the 2010 World Cup

  12-09-2015 23:08
  
  STEVEN GERRARD - MY STORY: I avoided all the bitching among England players. As captain for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, I couldn't quite believe it when I heard some of the complaints.
  
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• 'I can pick up the phone and speak to all of my previous Liverpool managers. Apart from one of them. Rafa is the exception.' Steven Gerrard on his time under Benitez

  12-09-2015 23:08
  
  STEVEN GERRARD - MY STORY: I don't think Rafa Benitez liked me as a person. I'm not sure why, but that's the feeling I got from him. It probably started even before he spoke to me.
  
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• Matt Giteau ready to shine again on the biggest stage after being left out of Australia's squad four years ago

  12-09-2015 23:07
  
  CHRIS FOY: Matt GIteau readily admits that part two of his punctuated Test career matters more to him than the far longer part one. That is perhaps no surprise.
  
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• Johnny Sexton has had busy four years for Ireland, but now it's child's play for No 10

  12-09-2015 23:07
  
  LIAM HEAGNEY: Johnny Sexton is a changed man from the youngster who went to his first World Cup four years ago. So much has been packed in during the intervening 48 months.
  
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• Uruguay do not fear the Pool of Death, insists coach Pablo Lemoine

  12-09-2015 23:06
  
  MATT LLOYD: A sense of humour comes in handy at times of adversity and Uruguay coach Pablo Lemoine can afford to chuckle at his side's World Cup pool.
  
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• Steven Gerrard: The day Stuart Pearce dumped me as England captain in the toilet... and gave the job to Scott Parker 

  12-09-2015 23:06
  
  STEVEN GERRARD - MY STORY: There are moments behind the public face of English football, when players are not always handled in the best way. Stuart Pearce taught me that in 2012.
  
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• New Zealand will bring their famous Haka to England for the Rugby World Cup... but what exactly does it all mean?

  12-09-2015 23:06
  
  Defending champions New Zealand won't just be bringing a squad full of talent to England for the Rugby World Cup, they'll also be performing their ancestral war dance, the Haka.
  
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• New Zealand legends Richie McCaw and Dan Carter are far from finished

  12-09-2015 23:06
  
  Richie McCaw and Dan Carter have dominated world rugby for the past decade but still have enough left in the tank for at least one more World Cup, according to Sean Fitzpatrick.
  
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• Billy Vunipola: I was stupid to snub Jonny Wilkinson after European Cup final

  12-09-2015 23:06
  
  When Billy Vunipola refused to shake Jonny Wilkinson’s hand after Saracens’ European Cup final defeat by Toulon last year it began a downward spiral which saw him dropped by England.
  
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• George Ford ready to shed 'small' tag and mix it with the big boys

  12-09-2015 23:05
  
  SAM PETERS: George Ford believes he has finally put to bed claims he's too small for international rugby by standing tall against some of the biggest attackers in the game.
  
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• 'For me, the ideal situation would obviously have been for Mourinho to have managed Liverpool.' Steven Gerrard on why Jose Mourinho would have been the perfect Liverpool manager 

  12-09-2015 23:05
  
  STEVEN GERRARD - MY STORY: Chelsea fans are not my people. We've all worked that out over the years. I belong to Liverpool. Jose Mourinho understood my reasons despite being persuasive.
  
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• Anthony Watson can’t wait to tackle 20 stone Fiji winger Nemani Nadolo

  12-09-2015 23:05
  
  SAM PETERS: Anthony Watson has little choice but to say he is relishing the prospect of going head-to-head with the biggest three-quarter ever to play in a Rugby World Cup.
  
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• Juventus’s late equaliser against Chievo earns them first Serie A point

  12-09-2015 23:04
  
  Juventus picked up their first point in Serie A when a late penalty helped the four-time defending champions to rescue a 1-1 draw against surprise front-runners Chievo Verona on Saturday.Paulo Dybala converted the disputed spot-kick, which was awarded after Juan Cuadrado was tripped by Chievo defender Bostjan Cesar. Continue reading...
  
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• Wales’ Jamie Roberts has done Rugby World Cup homework and ready to go

  12-09-2015 23:00
  
  The Wales centre has begun to understand that, as he gets older, he must appreciate the big occasions moreIt could have been even worse for Wales. Losing Leigh Halfpenny and Rhys Webb to injuries they picked up during last Saturday’s final warm-up match against Italy was costly enough but the previous week in Dublin two of their talismans, Jamie Roberts and Alun Wyn Jones, had been taken off less than 48 hours before announcement of the World Cup squad.Initial reports said they would be ou
  
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• Tom Youngs believes England are ready for Rugby World Cup kick-off

  12-09-2015 23:00
  
  England hooker says his team-mates will not be fazed by opening ceremony and late start against FijiEngland will not let the pressure of being World Cup hosts get to them when they start the tournament against Fiji at Twickenham, says their hooker Tom Youngs. “This is something we’ve been waiting for, something we have trained extremely hard for. It is our big moment and you could feel the sharpening of attitude when this month started.”Friday’s international will be diff
  
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• The Blind Side: The World Cup comes back to England and back to ITV

  12-09-2015 23:00
  
  Both the hosts and the tournament broadcaster have a familiar feel, the teams are settling in and statistical evidence for the ‘pool of death’Pool A contains four of the world’s top 10, whereas Pool B has only one. Using the average world ranking of each team (where the lower the average, the better the quality of teams) we can see how deathly it is: Pool A: average 7.8 (Australia 2, England 4, Wales 5, Fiji 9, Uruguay 19). Pool B: 10.6 (S Africa 3, Scotland 10, Samoa 12, Japan
  
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• RWC 2015: Vern Cotter inspires Scottish confidence

  12-09-2015 23:00
  
  In the closing stages of Scotland’s shambolic drubbing at the hands of Ireland, a galloping victory that won the visitors the Six Nations, a man left his seat in Murrayfield’s West Stand and made his way determinedly up the steps towards the box where the coaching staff sat. He raised his fist and shook it. “You should be ashamed,” he shouted. Vern Cotter sat unmoved, if he had noticed the outburst he gave no sign of it.
  
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• RWC 2015: Rugby's chance to win the hearts of a nation

  12-09-2015 23:00
  
  Too Big to Miss. Amid the blizzard of slogans, hashtags and hoary mottos swirling around the eighth Rugby World Cup, this one was an exhortation to spectators to snap up the 2.4 million tickets at prices ranging from reasonable to second-mortgage material. But there is another, unintended meaning, that we can aim directly at Chris Robshaw and his England team. As hosts, playing your opening pool fixture against Fiji at Twickenham this week under Friday night lights and all but one of your other
  
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• RWC 2015 - Courtney Lawes interview: England lock is top of the hit parade as he enters World Cup with a point to prove

  12-09-2015 23:00
  Courtney Lawes has a phrase for the attitude England intend to bring to their Rugby World Cup challenge. “Squeaky clean, it’ll be,” says the 6ft 7in Northampton Saints lock forward. “Discipline is massive for us. I used to get a bit angry playing, now I am concentrating on what I need to do in the game, how I’m going to make an impact. I don’t need to get worked up to make big hits.”
  
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• Roger Federer vs Novak Djokovic - US Open 2015: Swiss master to launch final stealth attack

  12-09-2015 23:00
  
  There is no player at the highest level of tennis who knows Roger Federer better than Stan Wawrinka and the Swiss No 2 believes his Davis Cup colleague is playing better than for many a year. Wawrinka, who has won two of the last seven Grand Slam tournaments, became the latest player to be brushed aside by Federer as the 33-year-old swept into today’s US Open final against Novak Djokovic.
  
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• Neil Back: This young England side are good enough to get to the World Cup final – and maybe even win it

  12-09-2015 23:00
  My dream World Cup final would be the team ranked No 1 in the world, New Zealand, playing the hosts, England, at Fortress Twickenham. And it’s better than a dream, because I can see it happening, and I’m excited just thinking about it. In fact this is the most excited I’ve been about any World Cup, which might surprise you considering that in 2003 I was playing in a team that won it. Back then, I had pure tunnel vision, just concentrating on the next job, the next match. I had
  
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• Mo Farah likely to retain Alberto Salazar in buildup to Rio Olympic Games

  12-09-2015 23:00
  
  • Briton confirms he will be staying at his home in Oregon
  • Altitude training will begin in Ethiopia or Kenya in JanuaryMo Farah has confirmed that he will be staying at his home in Oregon for the foreseeable future, increasingly the likelihood that he will remain with his controversial coach Alberto Salazar as he prepares for next year’s Olympic Games.An independent UK Athletics review, which is due to report next week, is expected to advise UKA to sever its close ties with Sal
  
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• How FA’s new rule can wipe the floor with football’s blatant deceivers | Daniel Taylor

  12-09-2015 23:00
  
  The more players such as Welling’s Sahr Kabba are exposed under a new law, the more presumably that others will think twice before trying to set up a fellow professional for a red card by feigning injuryIn the rather majestically titled Gamesmanship or The Art of Winning Games Without Actually Cheating, there is a delightful little passage where the author, Stephen Potter, describes one of his favourite ways of putting off an opponent, especially a musically competent one, by “consta
  
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• Anthony Watson will use pace to combat opponents at Rugby World Cup

  12-09-2015 23:00
  
  England winger is more relaxed about international rugby and is relishing the challenge of facing bigger men, starting with Fiji’s Nemani NadoloTry scoring is elementary for Anthony Watson, a player who a year ago was still waiting for his first cap. For England to confound the notion that defence wins a World Cup the Bath full-back, who plays for his country on the right wing, will have a central role to play. Since making his Test debut from the bench against New Zealand in November the
  
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• Anthony Joshua vs Gary Cornish LIVE: All the action from Commonwealth title fight

  12-09-2015 22:59
  
  Anthony Joshua steps into the ring once more as he takes on Gary Cornish for the vacant Commonwealth title at London's O2 Arena. Follow all the action as it happens right here...
  
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• Roger Federer has got back his wow factor, claims Stan Wawrinka

  12-09-2015 22:54
  
  Stan Wawrinka has warned Novak Djokovic that Roger Federer is back to his best for Sunday's US Open men’s final. Wawrinka was thrashed in the semi-finals by his fellow Swiss.
  
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• Lionel Messi keeps Barcelona on top with late winner at Atlético Madrid

  12-09-2015 22:52
  
  Lionel Messi came off the bench to give Barcelona victory at Atlético Madrid on Saturday to keep Barcelona on top of La Liga with three wins out of three.The champions Barça, who started with Messi as a substitute following the birth of his second son on Friday, fell behind after a tight first half at the Vicente Calderón when Fernando Torres sped clear to score in the 51st minute. Continue reading...
  
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• Heyneke Meyer identifies South Africa’s route to World Cup success

  12-09-2015 22:52
  
  • Meyer targets success at breakdown, scrum and line drives
  • Coach does not believe Springboks are among favouritesThe South Africa coach, Heyneke Meyer, has identified his three-point plan for World Cup success: mastery of scrums, line drives and the breakdown. “These are three areas that will determine the outcome of the tournament and we have spent a lot of time working on them,” Meyer said.Meyer added that winning the World Cup, as South Africa did in 1995 and 2007, wo
  
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