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Fabio Capello got his England reign off to a winning start against Euro 2008 co-hosts Switzerland at Wembley.

Playing in a 4-5-1 formation, England started slowly in Wednesday’s friendly.

But the impressive Joe Cole sparked them into life on 40 minutes when he skipped down the left and crossed for Jermaine Jenas to open the scoring.

Switzerland levelled when Eren Derdiyok fired home after the break, but Steven Gerrard set up Shaun Wright-Phillips to score from close range on 62 minutes.

Capello knows how much work there is to be done to convert England into a real force on the international stage, but he will be encouraged by a display that dramatically improved in quality as the game wore on.

Prior to kick off, Wembley fell silent to honour the victims of the Munich air disaster 50 years ago, though it appeared to be cut short before the full 60 seconds was up.

Once the action was under way, it was all eyes on Capello’s first formation.

Rooney was on his own up front, supported from the wings by the excellent Joe Cole and David Bentley, with Jenas and Gerrard moving forward from midfield.

The players seemed uncomfortable at first, and Gareth Barry, who was supposed to be protecting the back four, gave the ball away carelessly for Tranquillo Barnetta to test David James from 20 yards.

England were enjoying more possession but Switzerland had the first golden chance to score, Mario Eggimann somehow glancing wide after Phillippe Senderos flicked on a Hakan Yakin free-kick.

Capello stepped off his bench to give instructions to his new charges, but the crowd began to grow restless as England continued to give the ball away cheaply.

No sooner had the boos started than Joe Cole burst into life, skipping past Stephan Lichtsteiner and crossing from the byeline for Jenas to tap in from four yards.

Buoyed by the goal, England started stroking the ball around confidently, only Rooney’s lack of control letting him down before he chipped on to the roof of the net after excellent link-up between Joe Cole and Bentley.

Joe Cole set up Rooney to lash wide again before Diego Benaglio produced a magnificent full-length save to deny Jenas from 22 yards.

The crowd were starting to enjoy themselves, though they were soon reminded of just how much work Capello still has to do.

The experienced Hakan Yakin manouevred himself into some space in midfield and threaded a ball through to Eren Derdiyok, who wasted no time in rifling past James first time on his Switzerland debut.

But England were not level for long, Gerrard surging down the left and clipping in a cross for Wright-Phillips to convert from six yards out.

Gerrard was finding plenty of joy playing down the left as the game advanced and he went close with a fierce drive that only just flew over the bar.

England failed to find the net again despite bossing the later stages, but the victory was enough to satisfy the majority of the 86,857 that turned up.

England: James, Brown, Ferdinand, Upson, Ashley Cole (Bridge 73), Bentley, Jenas (Wright-Phillips 57), Gerrard, Barry (Hargreaves 73), Joe Cole (Crouch 57), Rooney (Young 87).
Subs Not Used: Carson, Richards, Lescott, Woodgate, Owen, Defoe, Kirkland.

Goals: Jenas 40, Wright-Phillips 62.

Switzerland: Benaglio, Lichtsteiner (Behrami 46), Senderos (Grichting 55), Eggiman, Spycher, Inler, Gelson (Huggel 84), Barnetta, Yakin (Margairaz 63), Gygax (Vonlanthen 46), Nkufo (Derdiyok 46).
Subs Not Used: Zuberbuhler, Coltorti, Ziegler.

Goals: Derdiyok 58.

Att: 86,857.

Ref: Felix Brych (Germany).

BBC Sport Player Rater man of the match: England’s Joe Cole on 7.35 (on 90 minutes).

Please note that you can still give the players marks out of 10 on BBC Sport’s Player Rater after the match has finished.

Player Rater

Source: England 2-1 Switzerland

Newcastle manager Kevin Keegan says midfielder Charles N’Zogbia may leave the club at the end of the season.

The 21-year-old signed a five-year deal at St James’ Park in September but was linked with a move to Tottenham in the January transfer window.

“Charles came to talk to me about speculation that there was interest from Spurs,” Keegan is reported to have told French newspaper L’Equipe.

“We’ll look at it in the summer as the signs are he is not happy here.”

N’Zogbia has started every match of Keegan’s tenure at the club, but he has often found himself at left-back instead of his favoured position in midfield.

The Frenchman, who joined from Le Havre for 250,000 in 2004, is believed to favour a move to London as that is where his mother and his sister live.

Source: Magpies say N’Zogbia may leave

Fabio Capello regards victory as football’s only worthwhile currency - so England’s win against Switzerland made it a satisfactory first week with his new charges.

England were promising and patchy in equal measure under the Italian’s stern gaze, at least providing the minimum requirement of a win to open the Capello era.

Capello will have learned much about the talent he has at his disposal, but the more intriguing sub-plot could lie in what they have learned about him.

This was no glorious opening to a new golden age. There was still a hangover from the Steve McClaren era that shattered England’s confidence and credibility.

There were pluses in the performances of Wayne Rooney, Joe Cole and David Bentley - and minuses in the displays of Ashley Cole and Wes Brown.

Cole is so far removed from the defender that excelled at Arsenal that he will soon face a fight to save his international career, while Brown is hardly international class in his favoured central defensive position, so his emergence at right-back in Capello’s first side ahead of Micah Richards was a mystery.

Switzerland were game without carrying a killer punch. Capello declared himself happy with England’s defence, perhaps a case of uncharacteristic generosity. A side of greater quality would have inflicted punishment.

England looked vulnerable defensively, with only Rio Ferdinand a likely long-term presence from this line-up, and defending set pieces will figure prominently on Capello’s “to do” list before the friendly in France next month.

The attacking system also needs fine-tuning. Rooney is better playing behind a striker rather than up front on his own - how Capello addresses this problem, and who with, will be fascinating.

Capello has not had time to put any serious imprint on England’s football, so even defeat at Wembley would not have been cause for national despair.

Indeed, if an England side managed by McClaren had produced this performance, it would have been greeted with a wave of supreme indifference. A new coach, however, is cut a little slack and everyone left Wembley relatively happy with what they had seen.

But if there is a major factor to take away from Capello’s first working week with England, it is his footballing philosophy that will have left a clear impression on his players.

The days of England’s star system are over. The era of a high-profile group of players being assured of selection simply by joining up with the squad has passed.

The sight of Michael Owen, sitting dejected and dropped behind Capello on the Wembley bench, provided the living proof.

Rooney plays better with another striker, and when Capello chose to employ one, he plumped for Peter Crouch rather than England’s golden boy of previous years.

And Capello’s reaction to interrogation on the subject of Owen and David Beckham merely rubber-stamped the ruthless pragmatism he has brought to England’s set-up after the all-too-cosy Sven-Goran Eriksson and McClaren regimes.

Asked about Owen’s exclusion and his failure to introduce him at any stage, Capello said: “I think about substitutions according to what I see on the pitch. If people perform the way I want I keep them on the pitch.”

Capello also showed a glorious disregard for grandstanding in response to chants for Beckham from Wembley’s impatient crowd late in the first half.

He laughed, well almost, and said: “It doesn’t influence me at all. I’m happy for fans to chant David Beckham’s name because he is a good player, but the things I do have nothing to do with my personal feelings for a player.”

In other words, this is a polite Italian message telling the fans they are wasting their time attempting to press-gang Capello into populist decisions.

Owen faces a fight to regain his place, while Beckham’s future is clearly under a cloud. The new order has started to emerge.

Capello has cut an impressive and imposing figure this week, whether he is outlining the discipline he demands from his players or whether he is making a slow march from the dug-out to make a point in his technical area.

And there is little doubt, despite his protestations, that he inspires awe, respect and even a little fear in a squad that had life too easy under the previous umbrella-wielding incumbent.

They do not know what to make of Capello, which probably suits him down to the ground.

England’s win saw them take the first tentative steps on the road to rehabilitation under Capello as they try to heal the wounds inflicted by the failure to reach Euro 2008.

It was functional rather than flowing, and everything must be placed in proper perspective, but as Capello might say, Rome wasn’t built in a day and he is putting the first bricks in place.

Source: England show signs of promise

Santana Expects Big Things in New York

NEW YORK — The house lights dimmed, music was turned up and a video montage of Johan Santana highlights started rolling on a screen so wide you could almost see the seams on every pitch.

Every minute or so, the string of strikeouts was interrupted by a famous New Yorker welcoming Santana to the Big Apple. There was Chris Rock, Alec Baldwin, Jerry Seinfeld.

The Mets spent big money on their new ace last week and then choreographed a lavish introduction Wednesday at Shea Stadium’s Diamond Club, set to some familiar guitar riffs by rock star Carlos Santana.

When it was over, the other Santana — the one with two Cy Young Awards — smiled as he pulled on his No. 57 jersey and blue New York Mets cap for the first time.

“It’s a new chapter in my career,” he said. “I’m going to make my time here special.”

After an extended photo shoot and a brief statement, Santana fielded questions at a news conference packed with 139 credentialed media members. The former Minnesota Twins star answered many with cliches, saying he would take things one step at a time and success was a team effort.

Mets fantasy preview AJ Mass previews the Mets from a fantasy angle and notes that Johan Santana’s arrival completes an already-good team. Preview

Still, he appeared perfectly comfortable at the center of the swarm.

“I spent eight years in the American League. You have to make a lot of adjustments,” Santana said as his wife and father looked on. “Now, in the National League, it’s going to be a learning process. But I’ll be ready.”

He also understands that Mets fans demand a World Series championship — or at least an NL pennant — immediately following last year’s September collapse.

“That’s what we’re here for,” Santana said. “I think we’ve got the right guys to do it.”

The left-hander insisted he doesn’t anticipate much difficulty in adapting to New York, though other stars such as Alex Rodriguez, Roger Clemens and Carlos Beltran have needed time to get comfortable.

“I think the game is the same,” Santana said. “I’m not going to let that affect what I do on the field.

“Coming to New York, you know you’re going to have a chance to win. And that’s what I want,” he added. “It wasn’t a tough decision.”

Santana walked into the news conference past a gift shop already stocked with replicas of his new jersey. Later, he posed for pictures at Shea Stadium and in front of the team’s new ballpark, which is under construction in the parking lot. The Mets plan to move into Citi Field in 2009.

General manager Omar Minaya introduced Santana, who agreed last Friday to a $137.5 million, six-year contract that allowed his trade from Minnesota to be finalized the following day. Minaya pronounced it was the start of “a great era of Mets baseball.”

“Welcome to the city of baseball,” the GM said.

Mets manager Willie Randolph, having acquired an ace for his staff, looked on from his front-row seat. Giddy, he put his arm around chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon and embraced him.

“You should be happy, Willie,” Minaya said. “You should be happy.”

Santana’s numbers slipped last season. He finished 15-13 and lost seven of his final 11 decisions as his ERA rose from 2.60 to 3.33, his highest since 2001. He allowed a career-high 33 homers — most in the AL.

“I don’t know, man. It’s part of the game. You’re going to have slumps, I guess,” he said. “I don’t really have an answer for it.”

His agent, Peter Greenberg, revealed that the deadline for the Twins to make a trade was mutually agreed to with Minnesota general manager Bill Smith around Jan. 22. The initial deadline was Jan. 28, but the sides agreed to push it back a day because executives of some of the interested teams weren’t available.

Santana had a full-no trade clause, which meant he could control his destination. Greenberg said the Mets were Santana’s first choice but that all three bidders were acceptable.

“I think he would have been perfectly happy if he had went to Yankees. I think he would have been perfectly happy if he had went to the Red Sox,” Greenberg said.

Mets fans are glad Santana ended up in Queens. On Friday, the team had sold about 100,000 more tickets than at the same time last year, when it set a franchise attendance record at 3.85 million. By Wednesday, sales were 175,000 tickets ahead of last season’s pace.

“When they announced that we got him, everybody kind of congratulated me like I just had a baby or something,” Randolph said.

Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press

Source: Santana ready to help Mets move past ‘07 collapse

England

2-1

Switzerland

Jenas 40, Wright-Phillips 62

 

Derdiyok 58

International Friendly
8pm, Wednesday 6 February 2008
Wembley Stadium
Live on BBC1

Fabio Capello was pleased with a win in his first game in charge as England Manager and was encouraged by the defensive performance of his team, but will look at the game again to see if there are any new lessons he can learned.

Jermaine Jenas scored just before the break to settle the nerves at Wembley, and Shaun Wright-Phillips netted the winner after Switzerland had drawn level 13 minutes after half-time.

But despite the neat finish from substitute Eren Derdiyok, Capello was happy with the way his team, featuring Matthew Upson in his first appearance since November 2004, defended across the 90 minutes while creating a number of openings that could have seen the margin of victory extended.

“I must say we were quite nervous at the start, they may have still had at the back of their minds the failure to qualify for Euro 2008,” said Capello. “Wembley always generates pressure on the players and they couldn’t play as they wished at first.

“Then we created a lot of chances, but didn’t take many because Switzerland had a very good goalkeeper. One of the things I was pleased with is that we didn’t give them many goalscoring chances.

“Switzerland are a team that can create problems, but we made sure we were in a position where they didn’t make problems for us.

“It was good for the morale for the team, but we need to analyse the game carefully. I need to look at the videos again, I’ve got an idea of how they scored and why, but from the bench you can’t see perfectly. I have some ideas on the what mistakes we made. Perhaps that was the only defensive mistake we made in the game.”

Capello also re-iterated what he expects from England’s players as he gets to know them all in the early days of his time in charge.

“I believe that in order to play for England you need to be a great player and also play well. At first I think the players have to have the right qualities to play for their country and then secondly they have to be fit and perform at the right time.”

He added: “I know I can rotate things, but I need to understand things and get to know players. There are matches when things go to plan and there are matches when things don’t go to plan and that’s when the we can see the character of the players.”

England
1 David James, 2 Wes Brown, 3 Ashley Cole (16 Wayne Bridge, 74 mins), 4 Gareth Barry (18 Owen Hargreaves, 74 mins), 5 Rio Ferdinand, 6 Matthew Upson, 7 David Bentley, 8 Jermaine Jenas (17 Shaun Wright-Phillips, 57 mins), 9 Wayne Rooney (19 Ashley Young, 87 mins), 10 Steven Gerrard (c), 11 Joe Cole (21 Peter Crouch, 57 mins).

Substitutes 12 Scott Carson, 13 Micah Richards, 14 Joleon Lescott, 15 Jonathan Woodgate, 20 Michael Owen, 22 Jermain Defoe, 23 Chris Kirkland.

Switzerland
12 Diego Benaglio, 4 Philippe Senderos (13 Stephane Grichting, 55 mins), 10 Daniel Gygax (38 Eren Derdiyok, 46 mins), 16 Tranquillo Barnetta, 17 Christoph Spycher, 22 Hakan Yakin (5 Xavier Margairaz, 64 mins), 27 Gokhan Inler, 29 Stephan Lichsteiner (19 Valon Behrami, 46 mins), 31 Blaise Nkufo (28 Johann Vonlanthen, 46 mins), 33 Gelson Fernandes (24 Benjamin Huggel, 84 mins), 34 Mario Eggimann.

Substitutes 1 Pascal Zuberbuhler, 21 Fabio Coltorti, 30 Reto Ziegler.    
  
Kit Colours
England Red shirts, white shorts, red socks
Switzerland White shirts, red shorts, red socks

Match Officials

Referee Felix Bryche (Germany)

Assistant Referees Jan-Hendrik Salver and Kai Voss (Both Germany)

Fourth Official Martin Atkinson (England)

Attendance: 86,857

Source: Nerves affected us

Congratulations to Ballroom Boxing promoter Scott Wagner and his lovely wife, Sheila on the newest addition to the family..Brady Michael Wagner. The baby boy came into the world on February 5 and tipped the Toledos at seven pounds, eight ounces. Mom and son are doing well.

Source: The Newest Member of the Beltway Boxing Community is..Brady M. Wagner!

OU led at the half 29-25 before falling to Big 12 rival for the fourth straight time.

Feb. 6, 2008

 

 Final Stats |  Coach & Player Quotes |  Game Notes  
 
 
 OU Stat Leaders  TEXAS  
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Few people have been more proficient at winning in Norman than Oklahoma football coach Bob Stoops. Maybe a little of that rubbed off on Texas’ Rick Barnes.

The Longhorns’ basketball coach spent the night in a room loaded with Stoops decor, then watched from the sideline as his guard tandem of A.J. Abrams and D.J. Augustin led No. 12 Texas to a 64-54 win Wednesday night against Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry.

“For whatever reason, I was assigned the Bob Stoops suite and there was about 10,000 pictures of him,” said Barnes, who also visited Oklahoma’s football field before the game. “We were pretty intimate.”

Abrams scored 22 points and Augustin added 19 points and seven assists. The backcourt partners teamed up to score all of the Longhorns’ points in a 10-0 surge midway through the second half that put them ahead to stay.

The Longhorns’ second straight rally from a double-digit first-half deficit gave Barnes his fourth win in his last six games in Norman, still a far cry from Stoops’ 54-2 record in the Sooners’ hometown.

“You’ve got to play with the game plan and never lose confidence. That’s what it’s all about,” Abrams said. “You’re going to have a game of runs.”

Texas turned in the decisive run, with Abrams’ jumper from the left wing putting the Longhorns ahead for the first time at 46-44 with 9:41 remaining. He followed that with a 3-pointer from the left corner, and Augustin added a 3 of his own to make it 52-44.

Blake Griffin scored the next five points to get Oklahoma - playing without injured 6-foot-11 forward Longar Longar - within three, but the rest of the Longhorns (18-4, 5-2 Big 12) started pitching in after that.

Justin Mason bracketed a pair of 3-pointers around Connor Atchley’s putback, and Mason’s two free throws in the final minute extended Texas’ lead to its largest point at 62-51.

The Longhorns shot 56 percent in the second half while holding Oklahoma to only 29 percent from the field.

“We got some very good play tonight from our guards, and Justin Mason made some big shots when we needed it,” Barnes said.

Mason matched his career high with three 3-pointers and finished with 11 points.

Griffin had 19 points and nine rebounds to lead Oklahoma (15-7, 3-4), which lost to its Red River rival for the fourth straight time. His brother, Taylor Griffin, added 12 points and 15 rebounds, David Godbold scored 12 points, and Tony Crocker added 11. The foursome provided all of Oklahoma’s scoring.

“We have to be able to score the basketball,” Sooners coach Jeff Capel said. “We held them to under 40 percent shooting. We have to be able to score.”

Oklahoma led 15-5 after Crocker hit three quick 3-pointers, but the Longhorns slowly chipped away until Augustin’s 3-pointer to start the second half got them within one.

Abrams’ 3-pointer from the right wing evened the score at 37 with 14 minutes left. That started a span in which Abrams and Augustin scored the Longhorns’ next 18 points, pushing them into the lead.

“We started out good and then the second half, they made every shot and it seemed like we missed every shot,” Godbold said.

The Longhorns did little to exploit the absence of Longar on the defensive end. Atchley, Damion James and Gary Johnson combined to go 6-for-19 from the forward position, with James managing a season-low two points while coming off the bench for the second straight game. All three ended up with four fouls, and spent the night rotating in against Blake Griffin.

Freshman Clint Chapman made his first career start in place of James, who lost his starting spot after a poor defensive effort in Texas’ loss to Texas A&M two games ago. Chapman played only the first 4 1/2 minutes before sitting out the rest of the game.

The Sooners struggled to their third-lowest point total of the season without Longar, their second-leading scorer.

Source: Sooners Fall to No. 12 Texas, 64-54

World Cup

BANGKOK, Thailand - Asian powers Australia, Japan and South Korea all started their 2010 World Cup qualifying campaigns Wednesday with wins.

Australia downed Qatar 3-0, Japan beat Thailand 4-1 and South Korea defeated Turkmenistan 4-0. Saudi Arabia also won, beating Singapore 2-0, but Iran was held to a 0-0 draw by visiting Syria.

The five Asian powers had byes through the first two stages of Asian qualifying but have been joined by 15 others.

Also Wednesday, it was: Iraq 1, China 1; Oman 0, Bahrain 1; Jordan 0, North Korea 1; Lebanon 0, Uzbekistan 1; and United Arab Emirates 2, Kuwait 0.

The top two teams in each of the five four-nation groups advance to the fourth round of qualifying.

 

Four Asian teams will qualify automatically for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, while a fifth will play in an intercontinental playoff against the top-ranked team from Oceania.

Australia took the lead in the 10th minute in Melbourne when striker Josh Kennedy connected on a header from close range after a long cross from Brett Emerton on the right flank.

Tim Cahill made it 2-0 seven minutes later when he leapt above the Qatar defenders in the goalmouth to head in a corner kick, and Mark Bresciano sent a powerful shot under a diving Mohamed Saqar in the 33rd to complete the scoring.

"The way we started was the most crucial part of why we won," Cahill said. "You see how many chances we created in the first half. I should have had a hat trick, but I’m just pleased to have got on the end of one."

Qatar’s best chance came in the 58th when halftime substitute Alhamad Mesaad Alim beat goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer but shot wide of the post.

It was the first match for Australia coach Pim Verbeek, who fielded a lineup made up almost entirely of European-based players.

The only locally based starter, former Rangers and Newcastle defender Craig Moore, announced his retirement from international soccer after the match.

Japan started slowly in snowy conditions in Saitama before a comfortable win over a Thai team that struggled in the cold.

Yasuhito Endo put Japan ahead with a curling free kick in the 21st minute, but Thailand struck back almost immediately with a long-range strike by Teerathep Winothai.

Japan reclaimed the lead in the 54th when Yoshito Okubo was first to a rebound in the area and shot home.

Thailand had a man sent off before the hosts extended their lead in the 66th when Yuji Nakazawa glanced home a well-placed header. Seiichiro Maki completed the scoring just before the finish when he capitalized on poor marking and weak goalkeeping to head one home.

South Korea also had to be patient before a comfortable win in Seoul, with England-based stars Park Ji-sung and Seol Ki-hyeon scoring.

The South Koreans had to wait until just before halftime for the opening goal, with Seol floating a cross to the far post, where Kwak Tae-hwi headed one in.

Seol doubled South Korea’s lead in the 57th when he scored from just inside the area after a neat layoff from Park Chu-young.

With 20 minutes to play, Park Ji-sung scored his first international goal since the 2006 World Cup. The Manchester United winger curled home a spectacular long-range shot, and Seol added another seven minutes from time.

Iran, which is trying to qualify for the World Cup for the fourth time, played in Tehran without a full-time coach. Former Spain coach Javier Clemente is reported to be the man that will take over, but he has yet to sign a contract.

Hawar Mulla Mohammed gave Iraq a 1-0 lead in Dubai with a 50th-minute penalty, but China midfielder Zheng Zhi equalized in the 75th.

"We were clearly the better side," Iraq coach Egil Olsen said. "We really wanted to win this match to have a good chance of qualifying."

Iraq is playing its three home matches in Dubai at its own request because of the unstable situation at home.

Alaa Hubail scored in the 14th minute to help Bahrain beat Oman in Muscat, and Odel Ahmedov scored the only goal of the match in the 44th in Uzbekistan’s win over Lebanon in Beirut.

Only about 200 invited guests watched the match because of a decision taken two years ago by the Lebanese soccer federation to prevent sectarian clashes between supporters of rival teams.

North Korea kept pace with South Korea by beating Jordan on Hong Yong Jo’s free kick in the 42nd minute in Amman.

The United Arab Emirates got goals from Mohammed al-Shehhi and Faisal Khalil in its win over Kuwait. Al-Shehhi headed in a free kick from Subait Khater in the 13th minute, and Khalil scored off a corner kick in the 53rd.

Source: Asian powers open WC qualifying with wins

France coach Marc Lievremont has been forced to make a change to his starting side against Ireland after wing Julien Malzieu withrew with a thigh injury.

Vincent Clerc, dropped to the bench as one of six changes originally, returns to the line-up on the left wing.

Aurelien Rougerie comes in on the right wing while David Skrela takes over from Francois Trinh-Duc at fly-half.

Hooker Dimitri Szarzewski, prop Nicolas Mas, lock Arnaud Mela and number eight Julien Bonnaire all come into the pack.

Mas takes over from Julien Brugnaut at tight-head and Mela replaces Loic Jacquet. Brugnaut and Jacquet are both on the bench.

Bonnaire starts in place of Elvis Vermeulen, who drops out of the 22 altogether, with Montpellier’s uncapped Louis Picamoles, 21, coming onto the bench.

Full-back Anthony Floch take Clerc’s place among the replacements.

Jean-Baptiste Elissalde is included at scrum-half having shaken off an ankle injury picked up in the 27-6 win at Murrayfield.

Despite the impressive nature of that victory, Lievremont said the changes to the side “reward the state of spirit among the replacements before and during the Scotland match”.

“These changes are clearly not meant as a sanction,” he added. “It is a logical choice to see everyone in the heat of battle, but still with a desire to keep the equilibrium.

“There is an enormous gap between our satisfaction with the spirit we showed, our courage, the desire to play and our solidarity, and next to that - if we want to be objective - the enormous failure in the construction of our play, our attitude at the breakdown to get quicker ball, some concerns in the scrum, a very vague kicking game and badly-used ball,” he said.

“That leaves us little opportunity to get over-excited. On the whole, we are delighted but there remains a lot of work to do.”

France team to face Ireland:
C Heymans (Toulouse); A Rougerie (Clermont-Auvergne), D Marty (Perpignan), D Traille (Biarritz), V Clerc (Toulouse); D Skrela (Stade Francais), J-B Elissalde (Toulouse); N Mas (Perpignan), D Szarzewski (Stade Francais), L Faure (Sale), A Mela (Albi), L Nallet (Castres), F Ouedraogo (Montpellier), T Dusautoir (Toulouse), J Bonnaire (Clermont-Auvergne).
Replacements: W Servat (Toulouse), J Brugnaut (Dax), L Jacquet (Clermont-Auvergne), L Picamoles (Montpellier), M Parra (Bourgoin), F Trinh-Duc (Montpellier), A Floch (Clermont-Auvergne).

Source: France bring back Clerc

Russia are at serious risk of a ban from all rowing, including this year’s Olympics, after more of their athletes were found guilty of drug offences.

The International Rowing Federation (Fisa) has banned Anastasia Fatina and Anastasia Karabelshchikova, two members of the 2007 Russian women’s eight team.

Last year, three other members of Russia’s squad were also banned.

“We may now consider a total ban of the Russian Rowing Federation for a period of up to four years,” read a statement.

Last week, Fisa announced a ban of all Russian officials from taking part in any Fisa-sanctioned events for one year.

Fisa rules stipulate that the officials of any national federation can be banned if four or more violations of the anti-doping code are committed within a twelve-month period.

The two latest rowers to be banned bring Russia’s total to nine, including the case of Olga Samulenkova who was banned in 2006.

“Fisa’s executive committee is now carefully considering further actions and shall release any ensuing decision shortly,” added the statement.

The investigation began on 16 July last year, when a bag containing substances and medical equipment used for intravenous infusions were found in a bin near the Russian squad hotel in Lucerne.

The athletes were identified through DNA analysis as having intravenously infused substances for a non-legitimate acute medical reason.

Fisa executive director Matt Smith added: “These are the last two athletes identified by DNA analysis to have used the material found in Lucerne last July.

“In order to respect the rights of the athletes, Fisa’s policy is to carry out all investigations fully before it releases any information about its possible doping cases.

“This explains why it took several months before all eight athletes were identified, heard and sanctioned.

“We are now satisfied that every opportunity was given to the athletes to explain their actions.”

Source: Russia on verge of Olympics ban