| Marcus Lattimore making an immediate impact for South Carolina Marcus Lattimore says he heard the scuttlebutt during the recruiting process. rssfeeds.usatoday.com |
Charlie Batch leads Steelers past Buccaneers to 3-0 start Charlie Batch, who in preseason was the Pittsburgh Steelers' No. 4 quarterback and self-described "odd man out," got his first start since 2007 ... rssfeeds.usatoday.com |
Knicks practice in Paris amid terror warnings By 2010-10-04T16:18:24ZPARIS (AP) -- The New York Knicks practiced Monday for the second game of their preseason tour, with Amare Stoudemire promising to have fun in Paris despite warnings of a possible terrorist attack in Europe.... hosted.ap.org |
Ospreys 27-16 London Irish Ospreys 27-16 London IrishThe Ospreys, the star-spangled Welsh region who have a reputation for dropping the ball on big European occasions, eased their way through this one, beating the leaders of the English league with a piece of magic from the Wales wing Shane Williams.The Ospreys had victory snatched from them by Jonny Wilkinson, Paul Sackey and Toulon last week but in the second half here Williams eased any jitters that might have been creeping in as Irish got back into the game by chipping and chasing to go half the length of the pitch."That was Shane Williams at his best and we are disappointed," said Toby Booth, the London Irish coach, whose team did not come close enough to earn a bonus point. "The first half was quite difficult. We didn't get any ball and as a result they controlled the game. Tonight we came second best and deserved to. We got beaten by a better side."For most of the game an unbalanced Irish side were playing catch-up rugby and it showed as they lost their composure and shape.Pool Three is completed by the two-time winners and top seeds, Munster, so this was a match the Ospreys had to win. Next, in December, they go to Munster's Limerick stronghold for the first match in a double header.After their defeat in Toulon the Ospreys made just one change to their side, but it was a fascinating one ahead of the autumn internationals. The Wales captain, Ryan Jones, was starting his first game of the season and thanks to Jonathan Thomas's form at No8 he was in the second row. According to the Ospreys' forwards coach, Jonathan Humphreys, Jones's display was marvellous. Even so, the man of the match award seemed slightly out of kilter. Jones was handy in the lineout but he seemed a little lightweight when it came to tangling with the likes of Bob Casey, the enormous London Irish lock.The more influential selection was in the Irish line-up. With Declan Danaher, Steffon Armitage and all other recognised No7s out injured, the Exiles brought in the muscular Tongan back-rower Chris Hala'Ufia for his first start of the season. The absence of a true, ball-winning No7 was obvious from the start, particularly opposite Marty Holah, the Ospreys' All Black in that position.The Ospreys duly won the first ruck and James Hook prodded Irish back into their own territory, where they were to remain until Tommy Bowe opened the scoring in the fourth minute. Hook's cut-out pass found the Irish wing in a manner similar to that in which Wilkinson and Sackey had created the winning try in Toulon. Bowe went over untouched.The lead swung to and fro, with Ryan Lamb answering Dan Biggar penalties, before the first Williams moment of the night. Hook had threatened but Williams somehow drifted through the tightest defence in the Aviva Premiership. He even vaulted the full-back, Topsy Ojo, only to lose the ball on landing. The pendulum had swung firmly the Ospreys' way, though there was a blemish in yet another interception try by the Irish.Last week Ojo scooted up the right to make Munster pay. Here it was the left wing, Sailosi Tagicakibau, who got on to the end of a pass from Lee Byrne, the Ospreys full-back, to go 70 yards. For the last five he was dragging Hook, who was using the No11's shirt as a tow rope.Lamb kicked the conversion from wide out to cut the Ospreys' lead to four points but then Williams dipped into his bag of tricks for a second time, chipping the defensive line 65 yards out, beating Lamb to the bounce and then outpacing the Exiles' scrum-half, Paul Hodgson. He went over in the corner, despite Ojo coming close to taking his head off.Ospreys Byrne; Bowe, Bishop, Hook, Williams; Biggar (Walker, 44), Phillips; James (Bevington, 66), Hibbard (Bennett, 58), A Jones (Mitchell, 78), R Jones (Gough, 76), AW Jones (capt), Collins, Holah (Tipuric, 58), Thomas.Tries Bowe, Williams Con Hook Pens Biggar 4, Hook.Sin-bin Collins 72.London Irish Ojo; Joseph (Seveali'i, 70), Mapusua, Bowden, Tagicakibau; Lamb (Malone, 68), Hodgson (Allinson, 76); Dermody (capt), Buckland (Paice, 60), Rautenbach (Corbisiero, 54), Kennedy, Casey (Garvey, 60), Roche, Hala'Ufia (Johnson, 68), Stowers.Try Tagicakibau Con Lamb Pens Lamb 3.Referee P Fitzgibbon (Ireland) Attendance 12,437.Heineken CupOspreysLondon IrishRugby unionMike Averisguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Nets to donate $75,000 to fund for paralyzed Rutgers football player The teams says it is giving the money to the "Eric LeGrand Believe Fund" to raise awareness of the player's plight. Nets general manager Billy ... rssfeeds.usatoday.com |