Phillips Wales Squad Ban Lifted

Phillips in playing action

Mike Phillips' Wales squad ban over a late night incident has been lifted and he is back in their preliminary World Cup squad.

Phillips, 29 has apologised to his team-mates and management.

In a statement, he said: "[I] would like to take this opportunity to do exactly the same to the Welsh rugby public and anyone else who has been offended by this or any other episode."

Phillips added: "There have been times I have let myself down."

The 2009 British and Irish Lions scrum-half has recently joined French Top 14 side Bayonne from the Ospreys, but is now back in contention for a place at the World Cup in New Zealand in the autumn.

Cardiff Blues' Lloyd Williams, who Wales coach Warren Gatland called in to replace Phillips when the ban was announced, remains in the squad.Phillips back as Wales ban lifted

Phillips admits he must now address his off-field behaviour and says he will "seek, help and advice in relation to that issue".

In a statement issued by the Welsh Rugby Union, he said: "This is the most embarrassing thing that has happened to me in my career.

Mike Phillips had been told not to report for training following the incident

"I am ashamed to have let myself get into this kind of situation and I am determined to put things right.

"As a player I'm really passionate and never back down. I know I can't allow that part of my character to come to the surface off the rugby pitch.

"I have realised I have an issue with the way in which I deal with, and have dealt with, the pressures of my current environment and have sought, and will continue to seek, help and advice in relation to that issue."

Phillips says the incident in which he was photographed face down while being restrained by a doorman on a pavement in Cardiff City centre has forced him to face up to his actions.

He added: "The positive thing to come out of everything is that I now fully recognise that I need to deal with these pressures and I am taking every step to ensure that it is resolved.

"I deeply regret my behaviour, my exclusion from the squad took place in the glare of intense publicity and all I can hope for now is the privacy to concentrate totally on convincing the squad management I deserve to keep my place and the public's understanding and support for what I'm trying to do.

"I am a proud Welshman and I remain determined to devote myself to being the best rugby player I can possibly be to gain success for Wales in the World Cup and future tournaments."

Wales twice face England then take on Argentina in August as they build up to the World Cup in New Zealand and coach Gatland says Phillips' return is due to the player being prepared to tackle his behaviour.

"Mike clearly breached the disciplinary code of conduct we have in place and was dealt with decisively and properly," said Gatland.

"We have taken into account all the relevant issues and Mike's apology in taking the decision to reinstate him in the extended RWC squad.

"An important factor in allowing Mike back into the squad was his decision to actively seek help to resolve his behavioural issues."

WRU chief executive Roger Lewis said: "It was very important for us to make it absolutely clear that Welsh rugby will not tolerate inappropriate behaviour.

"The message is now abundantly clear that we represent certain standards which will be maintained at all times both on and off the field of play.

"The Welsh rugby public expect it and deserve it."

Alonso Also Concedes 2011 F1 Title

Alonso and Vettel in Valencia 

Ferrari's Fernando Alonso has admitted defeat in the battle for this year's title after Sebastian Vettel's sixth win of the season in Valencia.

Red Bull's Vettel extended his lead in the title race to 77 points after eight rounds, leading from start to finish.

And despite there being 11 races left in the season, Alonso added: "The [title] is not in our calculations.

"If anyone thinks we can win being eight-tenths of a second behind [Red Bull] they don't understand Formula 1."

Vettel and Red Bull have been completely dominant throughout the season.

The 23-year-old has secured pole position in seven of the eight races so far, going on to win six of them, and is the first man to finish first or second in the first eight races of an F1 season.

In total, Vettel has dropped only 14 points all season, and his pace compared to his rivals in the last two races has been even more impressive given that the Canadian and European Grands Prix are not circuits ideally suited to the Red Bull's strengths - in particular on high-speed corners.

But the reigning champion refused to dwell on his championship lead after winning the European Grand Prix.

"If you look at F1 compared to other sports it's a very long season," he said. "You will have some races where it will work and races when you will struggle and it will be difficult.

"I think you need to look at last year as an example. It shows that we [Red Bull] had good races up to a certain point and then things went wrong.

"Of course, our target is to be in the lead and make sure we stay there but the most important race to lead the championship is after the last one."

I think second place is the maximum we can have in these days, so to be here between the Red Bull cars is a great achievementFernando AlonsoFerrari driver

However, with the gap to McLaren driver Jenson Button and Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber now 77 points - McLaren's Lewis Hamilton is 89 points adrift and Ferrari's Alonso 99 points off the pace - Vettel's rivals all believe the race is only on for second.

After the race, Hamilton also conceded that the title may be out of reach, before changing his mind and retracting his comments on Monday via Twitter.

"It's finished really. In the sense of the title it's almost over," said Hamilton on Sunday.

But 24 hours later he said: "To all our supporters, ignore what you read in the papers today. My team will never give up and I will never give up."

Despite this, Hamilton along with McLaren team-mate Button said the team needed to improve the car quickly as the gap between them and Red Bull could be more pronounced in the next race at Silverstone.

"We've taken a step back this weekend - or maybe the others have gone forward," said Hamilton. "I think we're quite a bit down in downforce.

"We haven't made an upgrade on that for several weeks, especially rear downforce, and I think that in the next race we may really struggle again.

"I'm really not looking forward to Silverstone. Ferrari are a lot faster than us and the Red Bulls are on another planet."

Button added: "We need some really good upgrades.

"We need to get our heads down and come up with something - particularly aerodynamically, I think. We need to take some risks.

"There's a big gap behind us to the Mercedes and a big gap in front of us in terms of Ferrari and Red Bull."

Alonso, meanwhile, reiterated his pre-race belief that his focus is solely on beating the chasing pack to second behind Vettel.

"I think second place is the maximum we can have in these days, so to be here between the Red Bull cars is a great achievement today," said the Spaniard.

"Our aim is to fight with the McLarens."

Duke and Duchess of Cambridge at SW19

The Duke & Duchess of Cambridge © AELTC/ M.Hangst

Wimbledon's magical Monday in the sunshine has become a royal occasion, with a visit by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

HRH Prince William and his new wife Catherine were given a rapturous reception from the Centre Court crowd as they took their places in the Royal Box before the start of the match between Andy Murray and Richard Gasquet.

For the visit, the Duchess is wearing a white tiered ruffle dress with circle details on the shoulder strap. The Duke is wearing a blue suit.

It is a visit that had not been previously announced but their presence may not come as a big surprise. William has always been a keen supporter of British sport at the highest level and Catherine's family are well-known as tennis fans. Earlier this month, the Duchess's sister Pippa enjoyed a day watching the action at Queen's Club.

And to mark the royal wedding earlier this year, the All England Club recently added a fascinating artefact to its museum - a handwritten note from the then Kate Middleton thanking officials at the Club after a visit to The Championships.

The note from 2008 reads, "Dear Sir. Thank you for your kind hospitality at Wimbledon last week. My friend and I had such a fantastic time and it was great to be able to enjoy the day knowing that we could have a little peace and quite if things got a little too hectic.

"It was a wonderfully relaxed day and we even spent part of it on the "Henman/Murray Hill", which was great fun. I really was not expecting to be looked after with such hospitality and I certainly wasn't expecting to see any of the Centre Court games. I do hope the end of the tournament runs smoothly and this fantastic weather lasts 'till the end of the week. Thank you again for making it such a fun and easy visit."

On this occasion, the Duchess will be watching the action from the Royal Box, which also includes two Kings among its guests. They are Billie Jean King, the six-time ladies' singles champion, and Sir Mervyn King, the recently knighted governor of the Bank of England.

Other guests include: F1 driver Mark Webber; Olympic rowing gold medallist Zac Purchase; Chris Kermode, the tournament director of the AEGON Championships and the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals; and Tony and Jane Henman, parents of Tim Henman who enthralled many a second Monday at Wimbledon during his career.The Duke and Duchess's presence in the Royal Box marks the second major royal visit during the 125th Championships. 

Last week, the Duchess of Cornwall was in the Royal Box to watch the thrilling match between Venus Williams and Kimiko Date-Krumm. Beforehand, she met six ballboys and ballgirls on the players' lawn.

ICC Lifeline for Ireland

Phil Simmons

Ireland have moved a step closer to securing the chance to play in the 2015 World Cup.

The ICC Chief Executives' Committee has recommended that there should be a qualification process for the event in Australia and New Zealand.

A final decision will be taken by the ICC Executive Board in Hong Kong in the next two days.

There was an outcry in April when the ICC decided to restrict the 2015 competition to the 10 full members.

Two weeks after the initial decision, ICC president Sharad Pawar responded to vociferous dissatisfaction among the associate and affiliate nations by requesting the executive board look again at the structure of the tournament.

Apart from Ireland, who beat England in 2011 and Pakistan at the 2007 World Cup, the other nations outside the ICC's full members to take part in the 2011 event were Kenya, Canada and the Netherlands.

Ireland coach Phil Simmons described the ICC's move in April as a "great day for greed and fear".

He added: "It is hard to find words to describe this despicable decision made by some who want to keep things among themselves and some who fear us.

"There can be no cricketing reasons for this decision, as we answered the cricket question, the television rating question, and we are 10th-ranked nation in the world - so what else is needed?"

The ICC Chief Executives' Committee did not make a recommendation to the ICC Executive Board on the number of teams that should compete in the 2015 tournament.

Serena Stunned by Bartoli at Wimbledon

Marion Bartoli emphatically ended Serena Williams' reign at Wimbledon with a 6-3 7-6 (8-6) triumph over the defending champion.

Looking to take home the women's title for a third straight year, Williams was well below-par as she tumbled out in straight sets.

Having had less than three weeks of action during the year due to injury and serious illness, it was always a big ask for the American to retain her crown.

However few expected her to fall to Bartoli, who will now face German Sabine Lisici for a place in the semi-finals, on Court One on the second Monday of this year's Championship.

The Frenchwoman finally registered victory at the fifth time of asking having earlier blown the same number of opportunities to take the opening set.

Williams battled bravely throughout but her accuracy deserted her as she scooped a series of shots out of play, meaning for only the third time the defending champion has failed to make the quarter-finals in the open era.

It was one of a number of poorly-timed shots by the seventh seed that gave her opponent the opening break of serve in the sixth game of the first set.

Bartoli took the next game without conceding and although she found it tougher to hold her serve in an epic ninth game, saving three break points herself, two aces helped her clinch an absorbing first set.

An early break at the start of the second then seemed to suggest the ninth seed would cruise through to the quarter-finals at SW19.

Williams, though, refused to go down without a fight. She produced a pair of fine returns to dismiss Bartoli's first two match points and then somehow staved off another before getting the chance to claim the break back.

A stunning return put the set back on serve again and it would eventually take a tie-break to settle it.

Bartoli won a thrilling rally to secure her fourth match point, but the indomitable Williams struck an ace to counter. But, hitting the net on the next point, she was in trouble again and Bartoli seized her chance to seal a famous victory.