csconstantine.com

{
Mike Tindall will lead England out for the first time on Friday, when he captains the side in their Six Nations opener against Wales.

The 32-year-old has taken over the captaincy during Tests but has had to wait until his 67th cap to have the honour from the start.

Tindall had been vying with Harlequins No8 Nick Easter for the job after regular skipper Lewis Moody was ruled out of the first three matches of the championship with a knee injury.

Although Martin Johnson today gave Tindall the nod for the Millennium Stadium he expects Easter to marshal the pack and inexperienced scrum-half Ben Youngs.

"Nick will do a good job leading the forwards, he's closer in to the play there and will give us direction with Ben and Toby [Flood] at 10," said the team manager. "Mike's a good captain, very experienced, but if he's not there we've got Nick, Louis Deacon, who's had a real good week as well - it's good to have him back and in good form."

Leicester lock Deacon has come in for Courtney Lawes, who has a knee injury, and is one of three changes to the side defeated 21-11 by South Africa in November.

The others are at flanker with Moody's open-side slot going to Stade Francais' James Haskell. Hendre Fourie had been earmarked for the No7 role but the Leeds man has been troubled by a calf injury in recent weeks.

Tom Wood will win his first cap after being handed the No6 shirt ahead of the experienced Joe Worsley. The 24-year-old was not in the original 33-man squad but has been promoted from the Saxons straight into the XV because he offers a genuine line-out option, something England lack with the absence of Tom Croft, who broke his shoulder against the Springboks.

Wood is in his first year with Heineken Cup quarter-finalists Northampton after three seasons at Worcester.

Johnson said: "Would Tom have got there with all the guys fit? He probably wouldn't, but he's worth a look and worth his place. The way he's playing, most importantly, with his club, is pretty impressive.

"It's not great to have guys injured but great to get Tom on the field in a big-time Test match. He's 24, so he's not in his first year of it, he's got a bit of experience.

"Tom's good in the breakdown, even though he's an aerial player, Louis is also a good all-round player, very good at the breakdown and very good organisationally in the line-out, so I think we're fine. We've got good carrying ability in that back five as well with James coming in, all those back-row guys are slightly different and it is a good combination we've got."

In a move that highlights England's tactics, the bench includes Bath back Matt Banahan, who will cover centre, wing and full-back and will be expected to bring his highly muscular play to the part at some point in Cardiff.

Dylan Hartley is at hooker which puts him in the eye of a potential storm as he has been singled out for criticism by Wales coach Warren Gatland after incidents during Northampton's recent match with Cardiff Blues. Jonny Wilkinson, injured during the autumn Tests, is recalled to the bench where he joins Simon Shaw, Steve Thompson and Worsley, giving Johnson four World Cup winners to call upon.

Talk of this autumn's World Cup has featured prominently in the build-up to the game but Johnson is refusing to look too far ahead.

He said: "Regardless of what's happening later in the year - we all know about that - this is still a big game."

Gatland also announced his match-squad today and has gone for James Hook at full-back rather than fellow Lion Lee Byrne, who features among the replacements.

Gatland has paired Jamie Roberts and Jonathan Davies together in midfield, with Scarlets wing Morgan Stoddart wearing the No14 shirt that was destined for Leigh Halfpenny until he injured his ankle in training two days ago.

As expected, Ospreys props Paul James and Craig Mitchell fill the vacancies created by injured Lions Gethin Jenkins and Adam Jones, while London Wasps' Andy Powell packs down at No8.

jQuery(document).ready(function() { var cookie = getCookie("raCookie"); jQuery("a[href^='/report-abuse.do']").each(function(idx, obj) { var soughtString = "*" + obj.id + "*"; if (cookie == null || cookie.indexOf(soughtString) == -1) { obj.style.display = "inline"; }});});


Agences de presses

Labels: captaincy, Easter, fight, London, still, Tindall

(corrects second para to make clear United have won the Cup a record 11 times)

By Mike Collett

LONDON, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Manchester United had to battle all the way to claim a 1-0 win over minor league Crawley Town who emerged as the moral victors from their FA Cup fifth round tie at Old Trafford on Saturday.

United, who have lifted the FA Cup a record 11 times, won with a Wes Brown header after 28 minutes but were never able to relax against the visitors, who are 93 places below them in the English League pyramid.

Crawley came close to equalising in stoppage time when Richard Brodie headed against the top of the bar after he had a good chance to score in the 72nd minute but volleyed wide.

Although Crawley failed in their attempt to become the first non-League side to reach the FA Cup quarter-finals for 97 years, they were applauded off the pitch at the end of a memorable evening that almost saw them leave Old Trafford with a draw.

(Editing by Ken Ferris)

To comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)

Sign in to post a comment, or Sign up for a free account.


Agences de presses

Labels: Crawley, fight, Reuters, SoccerManchester, United

{ The wrecked car of Robert Kubica after his rallying accident in Andora, Italy. Photograph: Roberto Ruscello/AP

The career of one of the most promising young Formula One drivers was hanging in the balance tonight after an accident in a low-key rally in Italy left him badly injured and having surgery to try to save the use of his right hand.

Robert Kubica, 26, who drives for the Renault team, was competing in a Skoda Fabia on the Ronde di Andora when he suffered a high-speed crash into a church wall and then a barrier shortly after the start. It took rescue crews more than an hour to extract Kubica from the wreckage. Unconfirmed reports from the scene suggest that part of the barrier speared through the car's footwell into the cockpit.

The Pole, who is a national hero in his homeland, suffered multiple fractures to his right leg, arm and hand. He was airlifted from the crash site in the village of Testico to the Santa Corona hospital in Pietra Ligure on the Mediterranean coast where he underwent lengthy surgery.

The main area of concern is the driver's right hand, which, although safe from amputation, is severely damaged and it is too early for doctors to give a prognosis on a full recovery. It is the same arm that was badly injured in a road accident in 2003 and left him with titanium bolts to support the shattered bones.

Kubica's manager, Daniele Morelli, said last night: "The surgeons are trying to restore the functionality of the right hand. They must now think about the muscle function, but Robert has a very strong temper and will succeed." The Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport reported that more surgery will be required after today's preliminary operation.

Kubica, who was due to start his fifth full season in Formula One in Bahrain next month, set the fastest time in testing last week and grand prix insiders regard him as one of the sport's supreme talents and a future world champion who could have earned anything up to $100m from his career as a driver. He made his debut for the BMW Sauber team in 2006 after eye-catching victories in the junior formulas, the traditional testing ground for emerging talent.

He hit the headlines in 2007 when he emerged almost unscathed from a terrifying high-speed crash in Montreal that was a testament to the strength of the modern Formula One car. A year later, and at the same track, he won his first, and so far only, grand prix. When BMW withdrew from Formula One at the end of 2009, unable to justify the cost after a dreadful season, Kubica signed for the Renault team and achieved some strong results, including second in Australia and third at Monaco, considered the greatest test of a driver's skill.

The feeling was that this would be the year Kubica would take on the sport's elite on the track and would soon be able to match them in the earnings stakes. In the ultra-secret world of Formula One finance hard figures are difficult to come by but Renault are believed to paying Kubica $10m a year until 2012, with Fernando Alonso earning four times that much at Ferrari.

Modern Formula One drivers' contracts usually forbid them from taking part in "high-risk" activities for fear of injury but the drivers are famed for seeking adrenaline rushes away from the track and Kubica is far from the first driver to put his career – and life – in jeopardy pursuing high-risk hobbies.

A spokesperson for the Renault team, which is based in Enstone in Oxfordshire, would not comment on whether Kubica had sought permission to compete in the rally although he has taken part in club rallies for several years. It is thought the car he crashed today, a powerful model that competes in international events, was one he purchased two years ago.

In the first three decades of the Formula One world championship, which began in 1950, drivers regularly competed in various brands of motor sport when they were not competing in grands prix. Top drivers such as Stirling Moss, Jim Clark and Jackie Stewart travelled the world to race in anything that might take them to a win.

Since the 1970s Formula One drivers are very much that, only occasionally skiing or mountain-biking in the off-season to keep fit and satisfy their need for speed and even that has proved hazardous. Two years ago the Australian driver Mark Webber broke a leg when he was hit by a 4x4 while taking part in a bike race.

Tonight fellow drivers offered their support to the popular Kubica.

Britain's former world champion Jenson Button, who drives for McLaren said on his Twitter page: "Shocking news about Robert Kubica. I wish him a speedy recovery."

Williams driver Rubens Barrichello tweeted: "I would like to ask you for your best wishes to Kubica. He is being operated right now. We all like him and he deserves all the best."

Sebastian Buemi of Toro Rosso said: "All my support to Robert Kubica. I am with you man."They will also be very aware that just as Robert Kubica was about to join the elite of formula one, his career may well have been snatched away from him by his desire to take part in one of the most basic forms of the sport.

Mark Webber

Breaks a leg when hit by a car mountain-biking in Tasmania before the 2009 season. Drives with steel rods in his leg. In 2010 goes over the handlebars on a training ride and fractures shoulder one week before the Japanese grand prix

Juan Pablo Montoya

Missed two races for McLaren in 2005 after injuring a shoulder "playing tennis". Stories that the damage was done when he fell off a motorbike engulf the paddock and McLaren are not amused

Michael Schumacher

Potential comeback with Ferrari in 2009 is aborted when neck injury caused by a motorcycle accident can't take the strain

Patrick Depailler

Misses the last eight races of the 1979 season – and a shot at the world title – after breaking his legs in a hang-gliding crash. The Ligier team dispense with his services. He joins Alfa Romeo but is killed in a crash at Hockenheim in 1980 during a private testing session

Didier Pironi

Survives career-ending crash in practice for the 1982 German grand prix. Takes up power boat racing and is killed in 1987 off the Isle of Wight

Agences de presses

Labels: fight, Formula, Guardian, Kubica, Robert, Surgeons