Monday, January 17, 2011
Sports World |
| Joncol targeting Hennessy Gold Cup Posted: 17 Jan 2011 07:24 AM PST Paul Nolan's Joncol, as short as 16/1 with some firms for the RSA Chase at the Cheltenham festival in mid-March, has his sights set on a more immediate target after connections confirmed that he is an intended runner in the valuable Grade 1 Hennessy Gold Cup at Leopardstown on February 6, a race he won in great style in 2010, writes Elliot Slater. Reported to have been in need of the outing when only third behind the rejuvenated Pandorama in the Lexus Chase at Leopardstown over the Christmas period, the eight-year-old is expected to give the winner much more of a race now that he is approaching peak condition. The severe wintry weather affected Nolan's training grounds very badly and meant that he was forced to run the Bob's Return gelding last time out even though he knew he was still a gallop or two short of his best and anyone looking for Cheltenham 2011 tips should remember this. The dual Grade 1 winner is currently rated 160, leaving him some way short of the marks set by Kauto Star and Denman, but not so far behind other high-class chasers. Although he has never left the shores of his native Ireland, it is quite possible that Joncol could take his chance in the Ryanair Chase at Cheltenham if all goes well in the 'Hennessy', while he is 33/1 in the Gold Cup betting. Doubtless no firm plan will be decided until after Leopardstown, but it is clear that on his day Joncol is a classy performer who wouldn't be out of place in either of his Cheltenham options. The ground may well provide the key to the Nolan-trained star's participation, as on all known form he has to have plenty of give in the ground and would be considered a doubtful runner if, as often happens at Prestbury Park, the Festival going is 'good'.  |
| Posted: 17 Jan 2011 05:56 AM PST A Heineken Cup quarter-final line-up without Munster will certainly look strange - it is the first time in 13 years they have failed to make that stage of the competition - but they can have no complaints after being well beaten by Jonny Wilkinson's Toulon. The French side battled their way to a convincing 32-16 victory and while many will focus on the kicking of Wilkinson, Toulon's victory was based on much more than Wilko's left boot. Pierre Mignoni was outstanding at scrum half, using excellent vision and equally effective execution to cleverly chip the ball over the Munster back line for Tongan-born Japanese international Christian Loamanu to go over. He then went on a magnificent cross field run that created a huge overlap on the right hand side for England's Paul Sackey to score. His influence on the match shouldn't be understated. Wilkinson, as ever was the reliable kicker, hitting 22 precious points that rewarded Mignoni's good work. The result was a scoreline that shocked the whole competition and anyone following the Livescore Goalwire would have been surprised by it. Munster's record run in the Heineken Cup stretched back to 1998/99 and while many in the media were tipping this result as an end of an era, many inside the club will resist panicking or ringing any reactionary changes in the wake of this game. After all they remain in the hunt for the Magners League once more and although this result is undoubtedly a setback, it presents an ideal opportunity for the coaching staff to take stock and assess what went wrong. That said, the latest rugby scores reflect the balance of European rugby may be shifting elsewhere. For Toulon the run will continue as are guaranteed to finish top of Pool Three and await the quarter-final full of confidence.  |
| Posted: 17 Jan 2011 02:20 AM PST The WRU website lists Wales's recent form as LLLDL. The draw was against Fiji. If Wales are to have any hope of winning the Six Nations, they must surely beat England first up, in one of only two home fixtures. If they lose, it could on the face of things be a painful season. The good news, however, is that it wouldn't be the end of the world. There are already several reasons for Welsh fans to be cautiously optimistic about events in New Zealand. Wales have discovered George North, winner of the SportingWales Rising Star award. George North may not be quite as good as he first appeared, but two tries against the world champions on your debut aged 18 isn't a bad start. Wales came very close to beating those same world champions in November, and it just so happens they'll be meeting them again in Pool D. They face Fiji in a potential elimination match at the end of the group stage, but have had enough warnings to take nothing for granted. As quarter-final underdogs they ran England close in 2003; maybe this is the year they go one better, although the rugby betting indicates they face a tough task to do so. So one or two defeats for Wales would not spell doom and gloom. If they can build throughout the championship, they have the perfect finale: Saturday night in Paris in the last game of the Six Nations. Win there and everything that goes before will suddenly seem far less important. After all, the Six Nations betting suggests the tournament will be really tight, so there is no reason why Wales can't win it. Wales have previous here. In their final Six Nations game of 2007, the last World Cup year, Wales welcomed an England side still with a mathematical chance of winning the championship. The hosts had lost all four of their matches so far. And what happened? Wales started with a flourish and never looked back.  |
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