England coach Brian Ashton faces a selection nightmare for the first Test with the Springboks in South Africa on May 26 after both Wasps and Leicester reached the European Cup final.
The final is on May 20 which will mean Ashton having to do without at least nine of the players that started the world champions last Six Nations match against Wales as England's director of rugby Rob Andrew has stated no player will play in both matches.
Adding to Ashton's woes is that his former club Bath have also reached the European Challenge Cup final against French side Clermont, which is at Harlequins ground The Stoop on May 19.
England captain Phil Vickery admitted to mixed emotions after Wasps' victory over Northampton meant he would play in the European Cup final but miss the first Test.
"If [England coach] Brian Ashton had any hair left, he would be pulling it out. It must be frustrating for him," Vickery said.
"It is disappointing for everyone -- for South Africa, for England. Good planning again from the people running the game," he added with heavy irony.
Andrew had made it plain earlier this month that there would be no doubling up for the players.
"You can't prepare guys to play a Test at altitude in Bloemfontein six days later [than the European Cup final]. It's not possible," Andrew said.
No decision has been taken yet about the availability of the players for the second Test against South Africa on June 2.
The two-Test South Africa tour is part of England's preparations for the World Cup defense in France which begins on Sept. 7.
Otago Highlanders flanker Josh Blackie is joining the exodus of high profile New Zealand rugby players after signing a two-year contract with Japanese side Kobe Steel.
The 27-year-old loose forward is leaving after nine years of being battered in first class rugby in New Zealand. Although he never played for the All Blacks, he has been one of the most respected New Zealand flankers in recent seasons.
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but