Australia and England head into tomorrow’s second rugby union Test in Sydney looking for redemption in very different areas.
The Wallabies may have won the first Test in Perth 27-17, however their inexperienced front rowers were totally destroyed by their English counterparts, conceding two penalty tries for the first time in Australia’s history.
Although England dominated up front and were in with a chance of an unlikely win late in the second half, they were a poor second in every other aspect of the game.
They were beaten to the ball at the breakdown, their kicking was aimless and their backs were incapable of penetrating the Wallabies’ defense.
Both coaches have resisted calls for substantial change, with Robbie Deans and Martin Johnson preferring to tinker around the edges as they look for improvement.
Deans has kept faith with his front rowers, likewise Johnson with his backline.
Australia’s only changes from the first Test come in the backs.
Deans brought Will Genia back into the side, the scrum-half fully recovered from a leg injury, while Matt Giteau returns to inside center in place of Berrick Barnes.
Teenager James O’Connor retains his place at full-back despite the return from injury of Adam Ashley-Cooper, who will sit on the bench.
“It was probably one of the hardest selection processes I’ve been involved with, mostly concerning the nine, 12 and 15,” Deans said. “It’s a good problem to have though.”
With first choice props Benn Robinson and Ben Alexander, and Wallaby hookers Stephen Moore and Tatafu Polota-Nau out with injuries, Deans had no such luxury choosing his front row.
Deans has elected to stick with Salesi Ma’afu, Saia Faingaa and Ben Daley despite the hammering they received from England.
Johnson was also faced with calls to bring veteran fly-half Jonny Wilkinson back into the starting side in a bid to spark some life into the backs.
But Johnson has kept faith with Shontayne Hape at inside center and has only made one change in the backs, bringing livewire Leicester scrum-half Ben Youngs into the starting side ahead of Danny Care.
Youngs has been rewarded for his efforts in Perth — when he came off the bench late in the match the England backs finally began to show some creativity.
SS Lazio on Monday fired the far-right sympathizer who handles their eagle mascot after he posted online a series of videos and pictures of his erect penis. Falconer Juan Bernabe, who has been present at Lazio home matches with Olimpia the eagle since the 2010-2011 season, posted the footage on social media after having surgery on Saturday to implant a penile prosthesis to improve his sexual performance. Lazio said that they had “terminated, with immediate effect” their relationship with Bernabe “due to the seriousness of his conduct,” adding that they were “shocked” by the images. The Serie A club added that Bernabe’s dismissal
‘TOUGH TO BREATHE’: Tunisian three-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur suffered an asthma attack in her 7-5, 6-3 victory over Colombia’s Camila Osorio Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday cruised into the second round of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Iga Swiatek romped into a third-round women’s singles showdown with Emma Raducanu and Taylor Fritz was just as emphatic in his pursuit of a maiden Grand Slam title. Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, the third seeds, defeated Slovakia’s Tereza Mihalikova and Olivia Nicholls of Britain 7-5, 6-2 in 90 minutes in Melbourne. Ostapenko and Hsieh — who won the women’s doubles and mixed doubles at the Australian Open last year — hit 25 winners and converted five of nine break points to set
Dubbed a “motorway for cyclists” where avid amateurs can chase Tadej Pogacar up mountains teeming with the highest concentration of professional cyclists per square kilometer in the world, Spain’s Costa Blanca has forged a new reputation for itself in the past few years. Long known as the ideal summer destination for those in search of sun, sea and sand, the stretch of coast between Valencia and Alicante now has a winter vocation too. During the season break in December and January, the region experiences an invasion of cyclists. Star names such as three-time Tour de France winner Pogacar, Remco Evenepoel and Julian Alaphilippe
AGING WELL: Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen, 22, was sent packing after being dispatched by world No. 97, Laura Siegemund, the second-oldest player in the draw at 36 Novak Djokovic yesterday created a slice of Grand Slam history on his way into the Australian Open third round, but last year’s women’s finalist Zheng Qinwen was knocked out in the biggest shock so far. Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka, in-form Coco Gauff, two-time Melbourne winner Naomi Osaka and a rampant Carlos Alcaraz were all victors on a rainy day four. Play was suspended on the outside courts for a couple of hours in the early evening because of the wet weather. That led to the rescheduling of a women’s doubles match between wild-cards Tsao Chia-yi of Taiwan and Thailand’s Peangtarn Plipuech and 11th