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| Scarlets 14-21 Ospreys Scarlets 14-21 OspreysThe Ospreys moved to the top of the Magners League, if only temporarily ahead of this evening's matches in Ireland, and looked ominously strong as they gradually quietened the largest crowd so far attracted to Parc y Scarlets.The Scarlets remain one off the bottom of the table with two victories in nine matches. Only Connacht lie beneath them and the manner of today's defeat, which saw a liberal supply of primary possession turned into scraps at the breakdown, suggests hard times ahead.But the Ospreys, who have group-deciding Heineken Cup matches against Clermont Auvergne and Leicester next month, were on a different level. The way they defended throughout despite having considerably less possession showed how they have become harder mentally and it was not until the ninth minute of stoppage time with the points long secured that their line was breached.It was a typical Boxing Day derby: attritional, hard fought and lacking any seasonal goodwill. The Ospreys' South African scrum-half, Ricky Januarie, was fortunate an attempted head-butt on the Scarlets' wing, Matthew Stoddart, went undetected 30 minutes in.Januarie had been having one of those games. He had twice wasted turnover possession by kicking the ball away aimlessly and two attempts at catching high kicks were so abject that the ball came closer to hitting his head than his hands.His short-term loan may end prematurely if he is cited, although Stoddart's advantage in height saw the butt impact on his right shoulder. There were numerous skirmishes as Boxing Day lived up to its name and, worryingly for the Wales coach, Warren Gatland, ahead of the Six Nations Alun Wyn Jones and James Hook left the field with shoulder injuries.The Wales full-back Lee Byrne made his return after two months out with a foot injury and his fellow Lion Adam Jones had his second outing as a substitute after shoulder surgery and a notable difference between the two sides was strength in reserve.All bar one of the Ospreys' replacements were internationals while the Scarlets largely had tyros in occupation. And so, while the home side competed strongly in the opening half, they never once threartened to break the hold of a constricting defence.The Scarlets led 9-7 at the break through two Stephen Jones penalties and one from halfway by Rhys Priestland, but the three meaningful attacks of the half came from the Ospreys, the last of which saw the prop, Paul James, dive through a pile of bodies after a lineout.James had scored two tries in 136 previous appearances for the Ospreys and he doubled his tally three minutes after the restart, lurking on the right wing and having the pace and space to cross despite taking Dan Biggar's long pass on the bounce.The Ospreys were going for the kill and controversially extended their lead to 15-9 on the hour. Biggar's 50-yard penalty drifted wide but the referee, Nigel Owens, told the outside-half to take the kick again 10 yards closer after penalising the home scrum-half, Martin Roberts, for passing comment as the original kick was being taken.Indiscipline cost the Scarlets again three minutes later. They were awarded a penalty 25 yards out only for it to be reversed when Vernon Cooper was flagged for dangerous footwork. Biggar, who had become the game's authoritative figure through his kicking out of hand, landed his second and third penalties in between a siege of the visitors' line to take his side to the top of the table. Jonathan Edwards gave the Scarlets a bonus point with a try from quickly taken penalty with the final move of the game.Scarlets: Priestland; Stoddart (Williams, 70), Lamont, Davies, Fenby; S Jones, Roberts; John, Owens, Manu, Reed, Day (Cooper, 51), Easterby (McCusker, 57), Edwards, Lyons (capt).Try: Edwards. Pens: Jones 2, Priestland.Ospreys: Owen (Byrne, 46); Bowe, Bishop, Hook (Parker, 40), Walker; Biggar, Januarie; James, Bennett (Hibbard, 52), Mitchell (A Jones, 39), Gough, AW Jones (J Thomas 43), Collins, Holan, R Jones (capt).Tries: James 2. Con: Biggar. Pens: Biggar 3.Referee: N Owens (Pontyberem)Attendance: 14,739Magners LeagueLlanelli ScarletsOspreysRugby unionPaul Reesguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Arizona Cardinals playoff tickets go on sale Monday Arizona Cardinals playoff tickets will go on sale Monday morning for the general public, marking the team’s second straight season in the mix. bizjournals.com |
Sea The Stars fourth-best in last 25 years • Handicappers regret being unable to rate colt higher• John Oxx blames slow pace for failure to break Arc recordThe mood was almost apologetic in ÂLondon as Europe's senior handicappers revealed their assessment of the 2009 Flat season, which showed that on official figures at least, Sea The Stars was only the third-best Flat horse since Dancing Brave, and the fourth-best of the last 25 years.Sea The Stars received an official Ârating of 136, which is 1lb behind both ÂPeintre Celebre, the 1997 Arc winner, and ÂGenerous, a wide-margin winner of the Derby and King George in 1991, and 5lb behind Dancing Brave's final mark of 141.Many thousands of racing fans who felt that Sea The Stars was the equal, at least, of the 1986 Arc winner will be baffled by the verdict. What the handicappers were keen to stress, though, is that changes in handicapping practice, as well as the brilliant three-year-old's habit of doing only enough to win, account for much, if not all, of the difference."In 1986 there was a higher Â[general] level than there is at present," Garry O'Gorman, Ireland's senior Flat Âhandicapper, said, "so in real terms I don't think that rating would be as high now. And we will never know what Sea The Stars could have achieved."There was potential to find out this year, if Zarkava [the 2008 Arc winner] had stayed in training, or if he had gone to the Breeders' Cup to race against Zenyatta [the Breeders' Cup Classic winner], that could have been illuminating. The implication for his rating there is obvious, because it could have been taking him out of his shell. In poker terms, he never showed his full hand."If Zenyatta and Sea The Stars had met, we might know more, but they didn't, and now we'll never know. In a way we were relieved to get him as high as 136. If some of these other horses [like Rip Van Winkle, rated 129] hadn't been around, he could have been on 130."If people are saying that Sea The Stars is the best they have seen, we are not Âsaying that they are wrong. Wide-margin winners will always get a higher rating as it is easier to give them a mark [but] it is important not to concentrate on the rating alone but to look at a horse's overall CV."John Oxx, Sea The Stars' trainer, was philosophical about the colt's rating. "I never get too worked up about these things, but it's a great rating and there will be very few horses that beat it," he said."When Mick Kinane tells you that the horse never exerted himself beyond 75% of his capacity, you know he's not going to be rated as highly by the handicappers as his record might have justified. They used to rate them more highly, but they seem to have become more conservative in recent years."It was a brilliant season and you can't really have any regrets, but the only one I might have is that they did not go more of a pace in the Arc. I think that if they had run at the sort of pace they did in the [Irish] Champion Stakes or the ÂInternational [Stakes at York], he would have probably broken the track record and put more Âdistance between himself and the rest."It will be interesting to see what ÂTimeform give him. The [official] Âhandicappers can only rate them Âmathematically, but Timeform probably feel that they can use their imagination a bit more."Another significant feature of the ratings was the number of fillies and mares at the top of the list. Goldikova, on 130, is rated the best filly miler since Miesque after emulating her feat of back-to-back wins in the Breeders' Cup Mile, while America's biggest stars, Zenyatta and Rachel Alexandra, are rated 1lb apart, on 128 and 127 respectively."Zenyatta's performance in winning the Breeders' Cup Classic was rated Âbetter than the best that Rachel ÂAlexandra achieved," O'Gorman said. "Some of Rachel's Âperformances where she won by wide margins were very hard to Âquantify, but in terms of running against the colts, her Âperformance in the Haskell was her best, and we were Âconfident that you could make her 127 there. ÂAmerican Âhandicappers were present at our Âmeetings, and they were happy with the ratings they were given."Sea The StarsHorse racingGreg Woodguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Cards’ viewing party set for Cadillac Ranch Cadillac Ranch in Tempe Marketplace will hold the official viewing party Saturday for the Arizona Cardinals playoff matchup against the New Orleans Saints. feeds.bizjournals.com |
Sir Alex Ferguson warns of divisions within Manchester United over Glazer ownership The extent of the hostility towards the Glazer family’s controversial ownership of Manchester United was laid bare on Saturday when supporters ignored Sir Alex Ferguson’s plea to put aside their anger over the club’s financial predicament. feeds.timesonline.co.uk |