Wood Backs Stuart Lancaster

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Tom Wood says Stuart Lancaster and his coaches should "come out fighting" as the Rugby Football Union begins its review into England's display at the World Cup on Monday.

The hosts failed to qualify for the knockout stage for the first time.

But Wood, 28, backed Lancaster, saying: "I think I can speak for most of the lads - I want Stuart and the coaches to come out fighting.

"They've done themselves proud in terms of their preparation and work-rate."

The performance of Lancaster and lieutenants Andy Farrell, Graham Rowntree and Mike Catt will all be under review as the RFU decides whether they have a future.

RFU chief executive Ian Ritchie has said there would be no "hasty reaction" to England's exit, while Lancaster, who was appointed in 2011, has said he would find it "hard to walk away" from the job.

The 46-year-old former teacher has received the backing of former New Zealand and Wales head coach Graham Henry but there have been calls from former England internationals for Lancaster to leave his role.

Wood added: "The coaches will have learned an awful lot during this campaign and over the past three-and-a-half years.

"At the top, they are going to come under an awful lot of pressure to ring the changes, but I can't speak highly enough of Stuart as a bloke and as a coach. I back him."

The position of captain Chris Robshaw is also under close scrutiny after England seemed to lack leadership in key moments of the pivotal matches against Wales and Australia.

It was Robshaw who opted for an attacking line-out from a late penalty against Wales instead of directing Owen Farrell to go for goal. Had Farrell landed a difficult three points, England would have secured a draw - and would have been more likely to reach the quarter-finals.

Robshaw edged ahead of Wood for the captaincy at the start of Lancaster's reign, but the Northampton flanker said: "He's a strong character is Chris and he's been here before. He knows he's got the backing of the group."

Asked if he would like to be captain England if Robshaw was demoted, Wood replied: "I'd try to do what's right for the team.

"If I was asked to do it for the benefit of the team, then I'd consider it very carefully and probably front up."

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Football Legends - Franz Beckenbauer

International career 

West Germany: 1965 - 1977 

103 caps, 14 goals 

69 wins; 19 draws; 15 losses 

Honours

1974 FIFA World Cup™ winner 

1966 FIFA World Cup runner-up 

1970 FIFA World Cup third place 

1972 UEFA European Championship winner

1976 UEFA European Championship runner-up 

Individual

1974 FIFA World Cup Silver Ball 

FIFA World Cup appearances 

18 caps, 5 goals 

14 wins; 1 draw; 3 losses 

England 1966

West Germany 5-0 Switzerland (2 goals) 

West Germany 0-0 Argentina 

West Germany 2-1 Spain 

West Germany 4-0 Uruguay (1) 

West Germany 2-1 Soviet Union (1) 

England 4-2 West Germany 

Mexico 1970

West Germany 2-1 Morocco 

West Germany 5-2 Bulgaria 

West Germany 3-1 Peru 

West Germany 3-2 England (1) 

Italy 4-3 West Germany 

Germany 1974 

West Germany 1-0 Chile 

West Germany 3-0 Australia 

East Germany 1-0 West Germany 

West Germany 2-0 Yugoslavia 

West Germany 4-2 Sweden 

West Germany 1-0 Poland 

West Germany 2-1 Netherlands 

Club career 

1964 - 1977: Bayern Munich 

1977 - 1980: New York Cosmos 

1980 - 1982: Hamburg 

1983: New York Cosmos 

Honours 

Intercontinental Cup winner: 1976 

UEFA European Cup winner: 1974, 1975, 1976 

UEFA Cup Winners' Cup winner: 1967 

German Championship winner: 1969, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1982 

North American Soccer League winner: 1977, 1978, 1980 

DFB German Cup winner: 1966, 1967, 1969, 1971 

Individual

FIFA Order of Merit: awarded in 2004 

MasterCard Team of the Century inductee 

FIFA 100 inductee 

European Footballer of the Year: 1972, 1976 

German Footballer of the Year: 1966, 1968, 1974, 1976 

North American Soccer League MVP: 1977 

Coaching career

Club teams 

1990 - 1991 Marseille 

1993 - 1994, 1996: Bayern Munich 

National teams

1984 - 1990: West Germany 

Honours

1990 FIFA World Cup winner 

1986 FIFA World Cup runner-up 

1994 German Championship winner 

1996 UEFA Cup winner

Kurtis Haiu 1984 -2016 #RIP

Kurtis Haiu 1984 -2016

Former Blues Super Rugby player Kurtis Haiu has died from a rare form of cancer, aged 31. Haiu played 53 games for the Blues between 2006 and 2011 and 75 for provincial club Auckland before retiring because of a rare form of bone cancer.

“The Blues family are deeply saddened by this news. Several of our players were close to Kurt and have spent time with him over the past weeks and months,” Blues chief executive Michael Redman said on behalf of the team’s players and management.

He said the franchise would discuss an official response on Thursday. The Rugby Players Association said Haiu had tried a variety of treatments for the cancer, Ewings Sarcoma, including alternative treatment in Switzerland and surgery.

Blues Captain Jerome Kaino said Haiu’s battle with cancer was characteristically brave. “I loved playing footy with Kurtis and I will treasure those memories of my Blues brother and pray that he rests in peace,” he said.

Haiu also represented New Zealand at the under-19 and under-21 levels and played for Auckland’s Marist Rugby Club. “It is with great sadness that we inform our Marist Family of the passing on of a Marist son, Kurtis Haiu. No doubt there will be more said about you Kurtis and your devotion to our beloved club but for now, we just bid you farewell,” the club posted on its Facebook page.

Tributes are already flowing in social media, including from former All Black Keven Mealamu who tweeted: “Rest well my Brother, Much Love and Blessing”.

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Wambach Apologises for DUI Arrest

Abby Wambach

Retired U.S. soccer champ  was arrested late Saturday night for driving under the influence in Portland, Oregon, authorities said.

Wambach, 35, was charged with a misdemeanour's and released on her own recognisance, jail records show.

In a statement, Portland Police said that Wambach was pulled over shortly after 11 p.m. when a police officer saw her drive through a red light. After failing a sobriety test, she was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol, the statement said.

In a note posted on her Facebook page, Wambach apologised and said that she was arrested after having dinner at a friend's house.

"Those that know me, know that I have always demanded excellence from myself. I have let myself and others down," she wrote. "I take full responsibility for my actions. This is all on me. I promise that I will do whatever it takes to ensure that my horrible mistake is never repeated."

Wambach added: "I am so sorry to my family, friends, fans and those that look to follow a better example."

In a statement, one of Wambach's sponsors, the car brand Mini, said it was pulling ads that feature her.

"We're obviously concerned about the alleged DUI attributed to Abby Wambach," the statement said. "This behaviour is against the values we promote as an organisation and the safety of everyone on the road is a priority here at MINI. Because of this, we are re-evaluating her association with the brand and are pulling content that individually features Abby from our marketing."

Some sponsors, including Nike, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Gatorade, citing Wambach's "heartfelt" Facebook post, said it "has no further comment at this time."

Wambach, a two-time Olympic gold medallist, retired last October, just three months after she played on the U.S. women's team that beat Japan 5-2 in the World Cup finals.

Since retiring, Wambach has actively campaigned for Democratic presidential contender Hillary Clinton and pushed FIFA, the international soccer association that has been under fire over allegations of widespread corruption, to include more women on its executive committee.

Wambach's arrest comes three days after several of her former team-mates announced that they were filing a wage-discrimination complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that will seek pay that equals male players

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Ronaldo in Portugal Penalty Miss

Brazilian-born Marcelinho scored on his Bulgaria debut while Cristiano Ronaldo missed a penalty for Portugal as the visitors pulled off a shock 1-0 friendly win over the Euro 2016 finalists.

Marcelinho, born in a small town in the Amazon region of Brazil and making his first international appearance at the age of 31, struck in the 20th minute of a game almost totally dominated by Portugal.

The hosts were repeatedly foiled by the Bulgaria goalkeeper, Vladislav Stoyanov, who capped an outstanding display by diving to his right to save Ronaldo’s penalty, awarded for handball, in the 69th minute. Ronaldo, who has missed three penalties this season for Real Madrid, also turned the rebound wide.

His unhappy night began when he fired over with the goal at his mercy from an unmarked position in the seventh minute. He also had four attempts at goal from long-range free-kicks, two hitting the wall and the others forcing saves from Stoyanov.

The visiting goalkeeper made six stops in the first 10 minutes alone, including one excellent effort denying Nani, as Portugal threatened a goal spree.

Bulgaria then went in front when Marcelinho, who qualified for them after spending five years with Ludogorets Razgrad, forced his way past two defenders and poked the ball past Anthony Lopes.

After that the game became predictable as Portugal poured forward and played plenty of neat football around the Bulgaria area but either lacked the killer pass or were foiled by Stoyanov. The goalkeeper completed his evening’s work by making a superb stop to turn away a close-range header by a frustrated Ronaldo with five minutes left.

“We are not satisfied with the result. We started brilliantly. In the first 15 minutes we were strong, consistent and the goalkeeper make some fantastic saves; and then we lost some concentration,” said the Portugal coach, Fernando Santos.

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DFB Hit with Sandrock Resignation

Helmut Sandrock has resigned as German football federation general secretary, a week before the release of a report into alleged dubious payments to Fifa surrounding the 2006 World Cup bid.

This comes after ex-president Wolfgang Niersbach resigned in November after claims he knew about and assisted in the making of payments to secure votes.

Niersbach denies the allegations.

A new president will be elected on 15 April with treasurer Reinhard Grindel favourite to take over.

Sandrock, who served as general secretary since 2012, said: "It is good practice and normal to give a newly elected president of the DFB [German football federation] the chance to propose a new general secretary for election.

"For the good of our football and the DFB it is necessary to make a completely new start in a credible and consistent manner, also in terms of personnel."

In November, tax authorities raided the DFB's headquarters after it emerged the federation had made a secret payment of 6.7m euros (£4.6m) to Fifa in 2005. An internal audit failed to find any trace of the 6.7m euros in the DFB's tax documents. The DFB denies the claims.

German news weekly Der Spiegel had claimed the money had been used to set up a slush fund to buy votes in the 2006 World Cup bidding process.

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Italy Win Keeps England on Course

England Women stayed on course for their first grand slam in four years with a five-try, 33-24 win over Italy in Ivrea.

A week after their 32-0 win in Scotland, England were made to work hard but triumphed thanks to tries from Lauren Cattell, Katie Mason, Lotte Clapp, Abbie Scott and Bianca Blackburn.

Italy, who had never scored more than one try against England, crossed four times themselves and led after 30 seconds, with Maria Grazia Cioffi poaching a try that Veronica Schiavon converted.

Cattell converted her own try to bring England level before Mason nudged the visitors ahead with a second try, which was also converted.

Wing Sofia Stefan cut the gap to two points with Italy’s second try, but Clapp went over to give the Red Rose a 19-12 interval lead.

England had to stay focused, particularly when the margin was again trimmed to two points early in the second half after Cioffi scored again.

Scott charged over for a converted try to hand England a 26-17 cushion, which Blackburn stretched further after some incisive play – before Silvia Folli brought Italy closer on the scoreboard late on.

Sarah Hunter, the England captain, said: “All credit to the way Italy played today, they played some great attacking rugby. They’ve got some physical forwards and some really fast threatening backs.”

She added on the England rugby website: “Of course we are happy with the win but I think we didn’t manage to get full control of the game. We know we are going to have to improve.”

England, who won only twice in last year’s Six Nations campaign, next face Ireland at Twickenham on 27 February, in a match scheduled to take place after the men’s fixture.

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Celebrity Warne Talks Baked Beans

Shane Warne has no time for his former captain Steve Waugh, saying he’s the most “selfish cricketer I’ve played with”. The former leg spinner has used his time on the television show, I’m A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here!, to tell the nation he dislikes Waugh for a number of reasons, but there is one in particular.

Warne said the manner in which Waugh, his then captain, told him he had been dropped from the Test team during a tour of the West Indies in 1999 is still vivid in his memory.

“There’s a lot of reasons I don’t like Steve Waugh, a lot of reasons, because he is the most selfish cricketer I’ve played with,” Warne says on Tuesday’s episode of the Network Ten reality show.

“One thing that really annoyed me about him was the one Test I got dropped, in the West Indies, was we had to win the last Test match to win the [Frank Worrell] Trophy.

“At that stage, captain, vice-captain [Warne], coach [Geoff Marsh] used to pick the team. We went to selection. I hadn’t bowled well, we had lost – Brian Lara batted unreal – but I was being the scapegoat, because I didn’t bowl well it was my fault.”

When it came to discussing the ins and outs for the next Test, there was no discussion. Warne said Waugh was blunt.

“We got to the selection table and said ‘What’s everyone’s thoughts?’. Steve Waugh said ‘You’re not playing’. I went ‘What? Hang on. What do you think the team should be? Blah blah blah’, and Steve Waugh said ‘Nuh, I’m the captain of this side ... you’re not playing’.

“I was really disappointed with that after 10 years. I’d just had a shoulder op. I thought the situation ... would’ve brought the best out in me too.”

Warne may have opened up an old wound but he cleared the air about a baked beans story that has been doing the rounds for some 18 years. He told the story how the Australian cricket team received 1,900 cans of baked beans while they were on a tour of India in 1998 after a request from their coach Geoff Marsh.

The only problem was they were specifically addressed to Warne and he said he has had to live with the myth that all the baked beans were for him.

“He rang Cricket Australia, Cricket Australia then rang the company and said, ‘hey look the Australian boys needs some baked beans and spaghetti to put on their toast in the mornings’,” he said. “We got three tonnes each ... addressed ‘Shane Warne, India’... so everyone thought I was desperate for baked beans, so it just stuck for the last 20 years.”

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Noves Proves Lucky Guy in Paris

Getty Images

Guy Noves was spared an early embarrassment as France came from eight points behind to beat Italy 23-21 in the opening match of the Six Nations.

France had won all eight previous matches between the teams at the Stade de France but for long periods on Saturday, a ninth was in doubt, despite a revelatory try-scoring debut from Fiji-born wing Virimi Vakatawa.

Italy's two previous away wins in the championship they joined in 2000 both came at Scotland's expense, but they led with five minutes remaining in Paris.

Jules Plisson's long-range penalty ultimately broke their hearts and denied Jacques Brunel's side a famous victory and launchpad for this campaign, with Italy captain Sergio Parisse missing a last-gasp drop-goal attempt.

France's tries came from Vakatawa, Damien Chouly and Hugo Bonneval, with Italy's responses from Parisse, winning his 115th cap, and Carlo Canna.

Five hundred military personnel were employed to patrol the first major event to be staged at the Stade de France since the November attacks. President Hollande was present, as he was on the night of the attacks.

On the pitch, France were far from convincing. Noves had 22 years at the helm of Toulouse before taking the international job, winning 10 French league titles and four European crowns.

The 62-year-old will need to pep up the French performance significantly if they are to trouble Ireland on the same pitch next Saturday.

France rode their luck in the first half and might have gone to the dressing room behind, rather than 10-8 ahead. Italy centre Michele Campagnaro was tackled barely a yard from the line in the 40th minute following a scything run.

A warning shot from Italy came in the eighth minute when Canna slotted a 30-metre drop goal, but the fly-half later missed a pair of seemingly routine kicks.

On his debut for France, Toulouse scrum-half Sebastien Bezy also failed to drape himself in glory as he squandered three first-half shots at goal. He was later relieved, and Plisson took the glory.

France's wild-card winger Vakatawa made his first big impact in the 15th minute. Promoted from the Sevens ranks, without a Top 14 club and lacking 15-a-side experience, he looked right at home

Vakatawa darted over in the left corner for an eye-catching try after a spell of French pressure. Fed by Maxime Medard, he side-stepped Leonardo Sato to dot down.

Parisse hit back for Italy when he led a driving maul over the French line and grounded the ball, but Canna fluffed the conversion.

Impressive in spurts, France regained the lead with Gael Fickou orchestrating a tap-penalty move that saw Wenceslas Lauret send Chouly surging over in the right corner.

But there was no letting up from Italy after the break, Canna finally bisecting the posts after an infringement by Eddy Ben Arous to put the buoyant visitors in front, and they thrillingly led 18-10 after a converted try two minutes later.

Parisse was inches away but could not get the ball down. Italy kept possession and Canna steamed in before converting his own score.

A French lifeline arrived when Bonneval buried in at the left corner after a charging run from Vakatawa carried the hosts deep into Italian territory.

Plisson converted and then booted a 69th-minute penalty to inch France ahead at 20-18, but Kelly Haimona responded five minutes later after Uini Atonio was penalised.

It was then Parisse's turn to be penalised, and from 50 metres, Plisson nailed the match-winning kick.

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