Apologies for the extended absence – a few minor inconveniences called finals had to be dealt with. All done and back to blogging now though, and posts from now on will have an exciting new format (my limited technical skills permitting). Each week there’ll be a video bulletin covering the week’s biggest sports news, accompanied by an article dealing with some of the stories that don’t hit the headlines but still deserve to be addressed. If you’ve got any suggestions for content, just leave a comment below.
It’s been an eventful week in the world of sport. The British Grand Prix, women’s world cup, ODI and Test cricket and Diamond League athletics have been discussed in the video bulletin above. However, there’s plenty more to talk about, both in the public eye and behind the scenes.
In rugby, this weekend saw the conclusion of the Super Rugby season, with the final between the Queensland Reds and the Canterbury Crusaders in Brisbane on Saturday. It was a tense affair with plenty of errors from both sides, and it was impossible to separate the teams on the scoreboard until Will Genia’s solo try from 65 metres. The Reds held on for the last ten minutes to secure an 18-13 victory and their first Super Rugby title in the professional era.
Closer to home, this week saw further developments in the turmoil engulfing the RFU. Chairman Martyn Thomas stepped down on Sunday following a report by the RFU’s disciplinary officer Judge Jeff Blackett into former chief executive John Steele’s departure in June. Thomas will stay on as acting chief executive until a permanent replacement for Steele is found. The rest of the management board survived after a vote of no confidence was defeated. However, this spells more bad news for English rugby’s governing body, which, with the world cup in New Zealand just weeks away, finds several of its key management positions unfilled.
Meanwhile, there was some good news for anyone still mourning Andy Murray’s exit from Wimbledon. Murray was in Davis Cup action for Great Britain this week, and his two singles wins combined with victory in the doubles alongside brother Jamie were enough to ensure the British team of victory over Luxembourg. Murray broke down in tears after his straight sets win over Gilles Muller in front of a home crowd in Glasgow. James Ward also won his second singles match to seal a convincing 4-1 victory. Great Britain will now face Hungary on 16-18 September in a bid to secure promotion to Europe/Africa Group I.
Scotland played host to another major sporting event this week. The Scottish Open at Castle Stuart faced serious disruption and eventually had to be shortened to 54 holes after bad weather caused flooding and even landslides on the course. Play was eventually able to resume, however, and in the end it was world number one Luke Donald who came out on top, finishing four shots clear on nineteen under par. Donald will now aim to become the first English winner of the Open at Sandwich since 1992, and the first British champion since 1999. The competition should be intense, with US Open champion Rory McIlroy another prominent British challenger. Colin Montgomerie will miss out, though, after failing to secure the top-five finish he needed to secure a place at Sandwich.
Meanwhile, it’s been a week of drama in the Tour de France. There were mixed emotions for Team Sky, as their first ever stage win was followed by a crash involving star rider Bradley Wiggins. Three-time Olympic gold medallist Wiggins suffered a broken collarbone during the seventh stage, which was eventually won by Mark Cavendish. An accident marred the ninth stage after a crash involving a television vehicle sent two riders, Juan Antonia Flecha and Johnny Hoogerland flying across the road, with Hoogerland hitting a barbed wire fence. Tour organisers took the car off the race following this incident. The Tour continues, and it seems certain that the controversy is far from over.
It’s been an exciting week, then, in all sorts of ways. From football to cycling, F1 to rugby and tennis to golf, there’s been no shortage of stories. I’m aware that there’s plenty more I haven’t covered – the rowing World Cup event in Lucerne to give just one example. In a way, though, that’s a positive thing. After all, if the sporting events of a week could be covered in a single blog, the world of sport wouldn’t be a very interesting place, would it?
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