Thursday, February 10, 2011
Sports World |
| Heaslip return boosts the Irish Posted: 10 Feb 2011 07:19 AM PST Ireland head coach Declan Kidney have decided against making wholesale changes ahead of this weekend's crunch game against France. The only change made by the Irish will be the return of Jamie Heaslip at number eight, the Leinsterman has managed to shake off his troublesome ankle. The return of Heaslip means Sean O'Brien will revert to blindside flanker, forcing Denis Leamy to start from the bench. Ireland were disappointing in their opening game of this year's Six Nations tournament, narrowly beating Italy 13-11, courtesy of Ronan O'Gara's late drop-goal and the 6 Nations odds suggested the win should have been much more comfortable. The experienced fly-half will continue from the bench with Jonathan Sexton starting at 10 once again. There had been calls for Tomas O'Leary to be dropped at scrum-half but Kidney has kept faith with the Munsterman despite a poor showing in Rome. Kidney has stood firm in the aftermath of the disappointment from last weekend amid plenty of calls for the coach to ring the changes to his team. The pressure will now be on his side to back his decision with a good showing in front of their home fans this weekend. If the Irish have any plans of reclaiming the Six Nations trophy from the French then they will need to come out of this weekend's match with a win. If Ireland can pick up a win this weekend then they would be right back in the grand slam race with current favourites England. A defeat in Dublin this weekend would send them to Murrayfield in their next round in a very vulnerable position against a much-improved Scotland side and questions over Kidney's decision making would inevitably arrive in abundance.  |
| Posted: 10 Feb 2011 04:16 AM PST 2010 was a very disappointing year for Paul Casey but the Englishman has started this year in good form and will be looking to get himself back amongst the world's best with the first major of the year just two months away. Casey lifted his first trophy for 18 months with a one-shot victory at the Volvo Golf Champions event held in Bahrain and the 33 year will be hoping the win is a springboard going into the US Masters at Augusta in April. Once again Casey failed to produce the consistency he needs to become one of the world's best and failed to make the cut in the Qatar Open which followed the Bahrain victory and followers of golf betting would have been disappointed by his performance. At this stage in his career, Casey is looking to make the next step up and win his first major. The Masters will be the next opportunity for the world's number six ranked player and Casey feels the course is will assist his game. His record at the Masters will give the Englishman a lot of confidence, in six appearances at Augusta Casey has recorded four top 20 finishes and the Masters betting suggests he should do well again. "The biggest goal really is a Major championship, starting with Augusta and the US Masters in April. The Masters is a great opportunity for me, with the way the golf course sets up," he said. Casey will be looking to prove a point this year after struggling last year to find the consistency needed to break into the real elite in the game. The beginning of 2010 saw Casey miss the cut at Augusta before finishing in the top 40 at the US Open, in between the majors the 33 year old struggled with a number of niggling injuries. Casey rediscovered his form by the time The Open came round at St Andrews, recording his best finish in a major by tying for third as Louis Oosthuizen picked up his surprise triumph ion the famous tournament. That performance was followed by the bitter blow as Casey missed out on selection for Europe's Ryder Cup side, captain Colin Montgomerie overlooking Casey for the event of the year. The perfect way to prove a point this year would be if Casey could go on and pick up that maiden major win.  |
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