´óÏó´«Ã½

´óÏó´«Ã½ BLOGS - Simon Austin

Archives for September 2009

Rugby union's clean slate?

Post categories:

Simon Austin | 19:53 UK time, Wednesday, 30 September 2009

Comments

Twickenham's was a fitting venue for the on Wednesday.

After four weeks of investigations, the 's declared that cheating was "neither endemic nor systemic" in the sport.

At the end of a summer when the and have tarnished rugby's reputation, the RFU believes it is now ready to move on.

Read the rest of this entry

Capello's World Cup HQ

Post categories:

Simon Austin | 12:13 UK time, Friday, 18 September 2009

Comments

The small, unfashionable mining town of Rustenburg is set to be England's home from home during the 2010 World Cup.

It will be quite a contrast to their 2006 base, the boutique-lined resort of Baden Baden in Germany that was so popular with the WAGs.

England's exacting manager, Fabio Capello, inspected sites in , and , before settling on the .

Although the Football Association are guarded about their choice of base, and Campus spokesman Refilwe Mushi would only admit "we are in negotiations with a number of teams, including England", I understand England have agreed in principle to stay in Rustenburg.

Read the rest of this entry

Are Saracens losing their soul?

Post categories:

Simon Austin | 10:25 UK time, Thursday, 3 September 2009

Comments

"I notice you're asking a lot of questions about South Africa," said wearily when I quizzed him about the changing face of Saracens a few weeks ago.

The back row legend is now part of the club's commercial department, having hung up his boots last season.

And in common with most other officials at , Hill gets tetchy when you ask him about the growing South African influence at a club he served with such distinction as a player.

"If I didn't agree with the strategy the club has, I wouldn't be part of it," he says firmly.

Read the rest of this entry

´óÏó´«Ã½ iD

´óÏó´«Ã½ navigation

´óÏó´«Ã½ © 2014 The ´óÏó´«Ã½ is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more.

This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.