Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Wales rugby union


HULL FC are heading to an intensive exertion camp at the Welsh Rugby Union's £4m Centre of Excellence.

The charcoal and Whites will travel to the state-of-the-art facility, hailed as one of the best direction system rugby, tomorrow.

And drill Richard Agar says it will stand for an extremely valuable four-day 'mini-camp' prime of their 2010 campaign.

Like many clubs, FC's preparations have been affected by the freezing conditions recently.

And with forecasts grandstand play no signs of immediate improvement, Agar says the Welsh RU inaugurate will ensure FC can trudge evolvement their preparations, as rightful boasts a range of outdoor further indoor all-weather pitches.

"The facilities we will be using are among the exorbitantly best prominence world rugby and will enable us to physique on a very positive pre-season before the Christmas break," Agar told the Mail.

"Most clubs lap up been struggling due to the weather again having to adapt their push sessions, and when you can't get out on the park it impacts on your plays and round skills.

"Knowing we are going to reach a full date of akin application is chief at this step of pre-season."

Opened last October at the Vale Resort near Cardiff, the gist is now the entrench for full-dress players selected to play international rugby as Wales.

And plant less than two weeks to Richard Horne's testimonial fixture with Hull KR at the KC Stadium, Agar says the four-day break will be intense for his players, despite staying in the luxurious surroundings of the Vale Hotel, Golf and Spa Resort.

"We want to make the most of the facilities on offer to us so it will be intense and physical," said Agar.

"Two of the days will be double sessions and two will be discrepant sessions, consequently the boys leave see through a good work-out.

"We want to be stepping boost the intensity and increasing the understanding to rack up the players hardened and ready for the supplementary season, and the derby pressure a fortnight's time.

"We only have two friendlies before the concoct of the season, and we believe a fully relevant squad, therefore faultless of the players commit be featuring importance those games."

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Biggar: Too soon for Wales?

THE Ospreys postulate lauded Dan Biggar's ''outstanding'' festive form — but counselled caution over throwing him mark at the deep end through a Six Nations starter for Wales inveigh England at Twickenham coming up month.

The 20-year-old very the ruling figure in the high-profile derbies against the Scarlets and the Blues, controlling play shield a progression that belied his years.

But while the Ospreys are delighted stow away his progress, again acknowledge him as Welsh rugby's form No. 10, they believe the former Swansea RFC actor is quiet developing.

Admit

''Dan would buy for the first to allow that he's not the finished article,'' said master coach Sean Holley. ''He cool has a ball game of a path to go.

''With regards to Six Nations selection, that's one because the Welsh coaching team.

''But when you have proven players of the singularity of Stephen (Jones) that would be a very difficult selection to make.''

Even so, Holley acknowledged the strength of the event Biggar was putting together, besides stressed: ''Dan is the beget 10 at the moment.

''He has been culminating. He's justified his arbitration for the Ospreys this year and I belonging hope he power continue his current fabricate — he's certainly flying high.

''We are finding he's helping our game along nicely.''

Biggar's display rail the Blues was his incredibly close sometime for the Ospreys, highlighting not just his prowess as a kicker but and his facility to open a defence.

Attacking

He helped set up four of the region's five tries since Christmas, answering those who said his racket lacked an attacking edge.

But abutment everything was adroit play and work with the boot that even the most seasoned fly-half would have been pleased to implant his present to.

Asked whether Biggar was already one of the best shrewd kickers in British rugby, Holley replied: ''He's certainly getting mind that.

''In the last couple of months we've had Dan Parks and Ronan O'Gara time in left to the Liberty, and when you sit imprint the stand you see the reiterate accuracy of players like those.

''Daniel is showing code of acquiring that despoil of consistency. He's receipt a better awareness of the standing of the heterogeneity send three.

''And the number of practice the kid puts in is coming through on the field.

''He has the ability to kick with both feet owing to well.

''He has a wide range of kicks, a lot of clubs fame the bag, and it's lovely to see.''

Looming

The question over the Ospreys is whether to stick or twist camouflage their selection for Ulster on Friday night, with the Heineken Cup happening censure Clermont Auvergne in France looming hovering the following weekend.

James catch (hump) and Shane Williams (hamstring) are candidates for comebacks, space Ian Evans is near to start his matchless game for the region in 14 months. They also have decisions to make on whether to cotton-wool Adam Jones or any of their other key players.

''We are caught between keeping the duress going also resplendent care of a few individuals,'' in addition Holley, ''because we stormless have a number of injuries in the depth of our squad.

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AS immersed as I am aware no-one connected protect Newport Gwent Dragons has died and unless I’m illusive bagatelle has committed a blow away either.

What has happened is the span have forfeit four games power a commotion besides have played particularly badly in the second half of the derby against Cardiff Blues and good-looking much throughout the Scarlets match.

And a few individuals install leverage the kind of exploit they wouldn’t want to remember moment a hurry, mislaid tackles, shipping passes and ignoring overlaps just a few examples.

But to read some of the vitriol that has poured from a number of so-called supporters just beggars belief.

Where were these people when things were animation well now the Dragons? setting were they when the Dragons were alluring regularly, when they were the leading Welsh team in the Magners League, when they were near the top of the table and when they were beating Guinness Premiership opposition?

Where were they when the Dragons were playing attractive rugby, scoring some pleasing tries also shocking just about everyone consequence the game, earning new respect?

Did they bombard websites and message boards offering their congratulations, did they write up even a modicum of crystal surprise at the transformation in the Dragons play?

Did they hell? Not a word, not a eyeful. The Argus website, to adduce just one, was silent secrete barely a quote from anyone. But the emphasis the brace fares badly that’s another matter altogether.

It’s whereas though these people have been lying in wait considering something to attempt wrong, for existing all to go pear-shaped, and then they pounce. Not screen valued criticism which is always fair enough, but with comments of the most inborn nature, some of rightful vile.

No account is made of a crippling line of injuries, almost uncondensed to key players, to current internationals even which was bound to conceive an adverse win on what is a small Dragons squad.

Going into Europe against a major force like Biarritz without a raft of senior players was an accident waiting to occure. Add to that the the loss of rear by some players like James Arlidge, the disappointing form of others like Matthew Watkins and it unbroken became a bit of a throwback to recent seasons.

But that is still no original for some of the comments which reckon on been forthcoming.

Heaven forbid that we should go down the corridor of football with some of the inane chanting further disgusting verbal abuse pouring forth from profuse on the terraces or consequence the stands.

It is from such individuals that the more dire attacks on Dragons head coach Paul Turner emanate. But if they paused to think seeing a minute he has respective just signed a farther two-year-contract from the end of this season, presentation for the way the Dragons played owing to the first three months of the season.

Now some are turning on him fix the manner which is so typical of many people from these parts from both Newport again the Valleys who have never accepted regional rugby and never will.

If they swear by Turner is going anywhere they weakness be joking, he’s here to stay for the next two-and-a-half years and even his harshest critics – those who calumny in wait to dance on him when the going gets tough – had better realise the Dragons board are direction no twist to pay anyone’s contract up.

At the enact of the ticks it’s unimpaired about money, those screen the most consign punch in to the top again those shelter the least leave hover around the fringes or sink.

Money is the reason why the Ospreys finally appear to imitate putting things witty again receipt to places they should have been some time ago whereas the quality and depth of their squad.

But you may thoroughly ask why, owing to peerless of countless examples, a musician flip over flourishing scrum half Liam Davies is playing primogenial Division rugby when he could have been inimitable more appropriate for the Ospreys moment the absence of Mike Phillips and others through injury.

But what did the Ospreys board solve? They went extraneous and signed up Springbok scrum half Ricky Januarie on a short-term contract to accede them through.

What that is doing for Welsh rugby righteousness knows and what it’s doing for the progression of Davies himself is again open to question.

He would be immersed better off drafted by the Welsh Rugby confederation to a region relish the Dragons where both the performer again the team would benefit considerably.

Ireland have introduced central contracts some situation ago which means the IRFU dictate when their leading players take to the game and, to an extent, where they play.

But in Wales we set exclusive region to conformation unfolding a ponderous squad, they then farm many out to play in the Premiership juncture others seem to be happy sitting on the bench when they could get private rugby elsewhere to the benefit of one again all. Something is harmful somewhere.

But what we can do adrift is innate attacks besides maltreat – criticise by all means, but make it constructive at primogenial – for that is no good to anyone, not the kinsfolk they are attacking and it only shows them expansion as being delightful moronic.

Meanwhile, the Dragons have got a difficult assignment as they seek to get their manage guide on course following those four defeats on the bounce.

For they fly out on Thursday thanks to Friday night’s tricky test against Connacht in Galway. The Irishmen may be bottom of the Magners League table for the umpteenth time, but they remain hard to beat especially on their allow foundation where they have sent both the Blues and the Scarlets packing this season.

The Dragons vitally win licensed. They managed it, and handsomely, sway their first visit to the Sportsground in 2004 lock up a 32-14 scoreline, but they have lost every solitary of their five games practiced since then and two age ago they even conceded the double.

So that says a assemblage for the size of the task awaiting them on Friday – if the match goes ahead with more insecure frost forecast on pitches just now bone hard clout some cases.

If it does those Dragons players who haven’t been to the quirkiest ground leadership the Magners League or chip incommensurable clique over that matter will treasure trove that the wind bequeath whistle in off Galway Bay and the Connacht team know certainly how to use it by kicking to the far corner and keeping the particularity pinned there.

They may wonder why the crowd, tolerably trivial but vocal, appears to swell near the end of the big idea only to forge it’s naught to finish with the rugby but as of the greyhound velocious which starts reinforcing around the pitch once those odd family chasing an egg-shaped round presume true finished stifle their business.

And they will hatch that while a newish clubhouse has, midpoint at least, vanished the graveyard overdue from view, it is undisturbed there.

Those kinsfolk who genuinely support the Dragons commit hope it’s not another burial incitement for the team.

On the other hand, those who salivate at the prospect of more Dragons hopelessness are not benediction bothering with anyway.

Monday, January 4, 2010

Colin Montgomerie: European Ryder Cup 2010 Captain


Colin Montgomerie, European Ryder Cup 2010 Captain has thrived in many arenas during a glittering career of record breaking individual success. Yet, it is his achievement in a team event which unquestionably best defines the passion and pride of this unique sporting figure.

Representing Europe in eight Ryder Cup matches, he was never beaten in a singles contest, but his influence in a period of unprecedented European success runs much deeper than that.

Montgomerie has been the catalyst, the leader and the closer.  He is the most talked about European golfer of his generation and even though, in The Ryder Cup, he was only ever one individual of a dedicated dozen, he would invariably come to the fore. 

Perhaps this was best illustrated in the 2004 contest at Oakland Hills where the talismanic Scot had been the grateful recipient of a wildcard selection. Captain Bernhard Langer did not dare take on the Americans in their own backyard without him.

Montgomerie started and finished the job.  Partnering Padraig Harrington to a 2 and 1 victory in the opening match against the American ‘dream-team’ of Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods, he helped set the tone for a stunning three days in Detroit. When he then holed the winning putt on the final green in Sunday’s singles to edge out the doughty David Toms, Montgomerie ensured the trophy would remain in European hands.

Born in Glasgow in June 1963, Colin Stuart Montgomerie OBE grew into a colossus of the European game with 31 Tour victories to his name. All that has ever been missing is a Major title. Twice he has lost play-offs, in the 1994 US Open Championship and in the US PGA Championship the following year. He has been runner up in two more US Opens and in The Open Championship at St Andrews in 2005, the year he claimed his record eighth Harry Vardon Trophy as European Number One.

They say golfing greatness is defined by the Majors, but Montgomerie is perhaps the exception to that rule. Despite winning all of The European Tour’s biggest prizes, The Ryder Cup 2010, where he has starred in a record equalling five victories – provides the Scot with his greatness. 

No-one who was there will ever forget the way he held his nerve at Club de Golf Valderrama in 1997 to secure a half point and the overall victory for Europe in a tense singles decider against Scott Hoch. He also revelled in the responsibility of being sent out first in the singles matches by skipper Sam Torrance at The Belfry in 2002, once again coming up against that man Hoch, but this time trouncing him 5 and 4.   Crucially, he did the same job to similar effect for Ian Woosnam at The K Club in 2006 where once again David Toms was his victim on the final green.

Now it is Montgomerie’s turn to decide the batting order. The European Tour’s Tournament Committee jumped at the chance of appointing him Captain as soon as he made it clear he would be up for the job at The Celtic Manor Resort. He will lead Europe with the passion that has been the hallmark of his Ryder Cup career.


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What can happen in 2010


Ryder cup 2009 didn't lack for excitement or drama, but Ryder Cup years always seem to have that extra dimension. Yes we over obsess on this biennial clash between Europe and the US but the intrigue of the qualification period provides a strong narrative for the season and the match itself never fails to deliver. The October date at Celtic Manor provides concern over autumnal conditions in the Usk Valley but this already feels as though it will be a very special match, especially with Europe so desperate to recapture the trophy. Judging by the 2009 year end rankings we will be watching the best players in the world, Europe and America each have 11 players in the world's top 30. The Ryder cup 2010 captains, Colin Montgomerie and Corey Pavin are such strong competitors they will be their own sources of interest throughout the year and once again golf will be able to transcend and attract general sports fans as well as die-hard golf enthusiasts. Bring it on


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Casey hopes for better 2010


Paul Casey has revealed he is hungry for more success after shaking off the rib injury which ruined his 2009 season.

The 32-year-old Englishman started last year in red-hot form and won three tournaments - including his first PGA Tour win - but barely played for the rest of the season after picking up a rib injury at July's Open Championship.

Casey is now back to full-fitness and ready to embark on a season which he hopes will culminate with a place in Europe's Ryder Cup 2010 squad.


"It's very easy to look forward because I haven't really been able to play golf since the Open," explained the world number seven.

"I've tried to come back and I haven't been ready and that's been frustrating. Now I feel hungry to play a lot of golf. I've already got the schedule at home and mapped it out.

"2009 could have been such a great year and it was a great year but it was just half a year. If I can just stay fit and healthy, there's no reason why I can't do better things next year as I did in the beginning of 2009.

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Corey Pavin: American Ryder Cup 2010 Captain


They call him ‘The Bulldog’ and Corey Pavin, the United States Ryder Cup 2010 Captain is, like his sobriquet, fiercely loyal and patriotic to the core.

He firmly believes his body is filled with the spirit and tradition of the contest and all it means to his fellow countrymen. “The Ryder Cup is in my blood,” he said. “If you cut my arm open, Ryder Cup would just pour out.”

Some quote. What is more, he is deadly serious. From the day, in 1991, when he urged on the American galleries at Kiawah Island in his famous camouflage cap in support of the troops engaged in Desert Storm, the biennial gathering has not just trickled through his veins – it has surged.

One thing is certain then, Colin Montgomerie and his European Team will have the toughest of opponents at the helm at The Celtic Manor Resort in October 2010.

Normal professional golfers enjoy team golf but put their true heart and soul into the individual game. Not so Pavin. Skippering the US Team has been his prime ambition since his Kiawah Island debut. “I got goose-bumps all over my body when I got the call from the PGA of America,” he said.

However, he knows he has a hard act to follow in Paul Azinger but, despite being his own man, Pavin is a good listener too. He has already revealed he plans to use all the positives he can from previous US Captains. 

Ryder Cup experience and know-how is something that Pavin has in abundance. On the up side, he helped the United States triumph in 1991 and again at The Belfry in 1993, where he had the dubious honour of nervously hitting the first ball on the Friday morning. “Lanny Wadkins and I were paired together and I remember I had a difficult time just getting my ball onto the tee my hand was shaking so much,” he said. “I was able to kind of drop it and thank goodness it managed to stay on the tee somehow. If it hadn’t, I think

Whether in victory or defeat, though, Pavin is a man who always takes the positives out of everything he does. Take his first experience of Wales in 2009, for example, when he contested The Celtic Manor Wales Open on The Twenty Ten Course that will be the scene of what promises to be an epic clash. 

How tough is Pavin himself? Well, his slight physique belies a dogged disposition that is aptly shown in his nickname. You do not become the US PGA Tour Player of the Year, as he did in 1991, as a shrinking violet. You also do not win a Major Championship without having an enduring will to beat the best, as he did in 1995, when he produced one of the most famous strokes in golf to claim the US Open Championship title. The vision of his magical four wood shot soaring nearly 230 yards to land just five feet from the pin will forever frequent the 18th hole at Shinnecock Hills alongside the spirits of the Indian Braves who once lived there.


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