Scotland must 'stay strong' & get 'hunger back'
Injured striker Lyndon Dykes says Scotland need to "stay strong" and get their "hunger back" after Friday's abject defeat to Iceland.Read match report & watch highlights
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Telegraph
18 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Freddie Steward ‘no arms tackle' controversy – was right call made?
This semi-final slug-fest was always likely to come down to the wire and, sure enough, a tight and tense encounter almost featured one more twist as Sale Sharks laid siege to Leicester Tigers in pursuit of a try that could have snatched victory. On the 13th phase of a prolonged attack that had swept from touchline to touchline, Luke Cowan-Dickie spilt the ball in a tackle from Freddie Steward. That appeared to end the game and send the hosts through to the final. Then, however, Matthew Carley was alerted to potential foul play in the collision between Steward and Cowan-Dickie, which had left the latter in need of medical attention. What happened? Having stepped inside one covering defender, Adam Radwan, Cowan-Dickie stooped into the challenge of Steward. The pair clashed heads, which has been a source of penalties and cards around the world over the past few years. Tracking across the back-field on a slippery surface, Steward did well to keep his balance in contact. As the rain grew more intense in the second half, players had been sliding across the pitch constantly. Carley needed to make sure, though, that the Leicester full-back had kept his arms 'up legally' – that is to say, that Steward was attempting to wrap and that the tackle was not a shoulder charge. What was the decision? After studying a couple of replays on the big screen, Carley reached a quick and clear decision. 'Arms up, no foul play,' he said. Stuart Terheege, the television match official, agreed: 'He's making an attempt to tackle there.' Carley went on to suggest that Cowan-Dickie's actions had caused the head contact. 'Fifteen [Steward] is in a legal position to make the tackle,' the referee stated. 'He's got his arms up. 'Two [Cowan-Dickie] drops into the space, so there is no foul play.' The final whistle was subsequently blown. Was it the right decision? Yes, because of the nature of Cowan-Dickie's carry and his sudden stoop. That said, there would have been little surprise to see a penalty awarded to Sale. What was the reaction? Former England scrum-half Danny Care and Wales captain Sam Warburton both agreed that is should been a penalty. 'We all think it is a penalty, don't we? It's a really tough one because it is not malicious. He has tackled Cowan-Dickie's head with his own head, and I think that has led to the knock-on,' said Care. Warburton concurred. 'It's an ugly tackle, not a good tackle, it is not malicious, but it is ugly.' He then added: 'I think he has got that wrong. I don't see much of a wrap there. Alex Sanderson, the Sharks director of rugby, however, declared no complaints in his post-match interview. Steward did concede that his technique could have been more polished. 'I was running around like a headless chicken at the end,' he admitted. 'Luke stepped in and I just got low and tried to belt him. Not the best technique. 'I thought it was fine and I was surprised he went to the TMO. I tried to wrap the arms.'
Telegraph
18 minutes ago
- Telegraph
England football fans chant ‘Keir Starmer is a c---'
England supporters called Prime Minister Keir Starmer a 'c---' during the World Cup qualifier against Andorra. Around 7,000 England fans travelled to Barcelona and they turned on Starmer during the clash with the team ranked 173rd in the world rankings. With the match goalless, the foul-mouthed chants about the Prime Minister were clearly heard. To the tune of KC & The Sunshine Band's 1982 song Give It Up, fans sang: 'Na-na, na-na, na-na, na-na-na-na now, Starmer is a c---, is a c---, Starmer is a c---.' Starmer was also in their sights when they sang: 'Keir Starmer, is a w----r, is a w----r.' Thomas Tuchel's team were playing at a half-empty stadium after the fixture was switched from Andorra to Espanyol's ground 125 miles away. At the time of the chanting towards the Prime Minister, England were struggling to break down their lowly-ranked opponents and supporters went through their repertoire of songs. At half-time, there were boos from the crowd after England failed to score in the first 45 minutes. While it is the first time supporters have taken aim at the Prime Minister, the Football Association was previously been warned about 'political chants' by English fans during the World Cup in Russia in 2018. Fifa looked into the chanting of 'No Surrender' by supporters and other potentially discriminatory songs. Earlier in the season, police urged England fans to 'respect local culture' when attending the Nations League match against the Republic of Ireland in Dublin. England fans also sang God Save The King, and there was controversy over the national anthem earlier this season when Lee Carsley, a former Republic of Ireland international, did not sing it during his time as England's interim manager. Tuchel says he has to 'earn the right' to sing the national anthem. 'I feel that it is not just a given. You cannot just sing it. That's why I decided that I will not sing it in my first matches,' the German said.
Daily Mail
24 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
We weren't good enough, admits Warriors coach Franco after reigning champions are blown away by Leinster
Leinster 37 Glasgow 19 GLASGOW WARRIORS boss Franco Smith admitted his team were nowhere near good enough after they were blown away by Leinster in the URC semi-finals. Leinster ran in six tries in a dominant performance to bring Glasgow's reign as champions to a brutal end in Dublin. The Irish side scored 30 unanswered points at one stage to race clear as the Warriors sank without a trace at the Aviva. In particular, Smith was left to rue a slow start which had seen his team chasing the game and, ultimately, making too many unforced errors. 'Ultimately, we weren't good enough on the day, especially in the first half,' admitted the Glasgow head coach. 'I felt we should have started the game much better. 'It was a huge performance from Leinster. They started so quickly and we were chasing things from there, which is so hard. That just led to more errors from our side. 'They did a job on us in the first 20 or 25 minutes, where we had to make about 100 tackles. Leinster are a quality outfit, but we could have been better. 'They kept the error and penalty count down while we didn't. They put us on the back foot and it was an uphill battle from there.' Smith had started the match with two fly-halves on the pitch, as Adam Hastings started at 10 and Tom Jordan at 12 in an effort to match Leinster's kicking game. But it didn't work. Glasgow lost the aerial battle and Hastings was taken off at half-time, as Leinster dominated. Insisting that it was not the wrong approach, Smith said: 'I don't think the strategy was wrong. I think that's the right way to play against Leinster. We just didn't compete well enough in the aerial battle.' Despite the heavy defeat, Smith insisted he was proud of the efforts from his players in a title defence which fell short at the semi-final stage. 'I am really proud of our boys for our title defence this season,' he added. 'We must see it in context. We've had a lot of guys injured and not available for selection. You have to look at the big picture. 'We had to be extraordinarily good and they would have had to be average at least and that didn't happen.' Meanwhile, Leinster forward Ryan Baird, who was named man of the match, said: 'We want to win this tournament. Simple as that. We needed to turn up, no excuses and we did that. 'Glasgow are a great team full of Lions players and we never took them for granted. We were physical and energetic which is just as pleasing as the scores we got.'
