England shattered China 54-0 despite turning up with the wrong studs as fellow favorites New Zealand and South Africa also got off to convincing starts at the Hong Kong Sevens yesterday.
Monsoon conditions took England, four-time winners, by surprise, forcing a last-ditch scramble, with longer, wet-weather studs arriving by courier just 30 minutes before the start.
“It’s not particularly professional of the boys. I gave them an earful for not bringing the appropriate footwear,” said coach Ben Ryan, adding team officials had to call shops and sponsors for the equipment. “It was a distraction we could have done without. One guy had to run about two miles to get a set.”
Despite the poor preparations and difficult conditions, England were dynamite as they capitalized on a hat full of errors by China.
Dan Caprice scored a second-half hat-trick and Kevin Barrett and Josua Drauniniu got two each as England set about erasing the pain of their quarter-final loss in this month’s World Cup.
“We were ruthless,” Ryan said. “That’s what I asked the boys to be and that’s what they were.”
Defending champions New Zealand also made light of “atrocious” conditions in their 59-0 workout against minnows Sri Lanka.
Lote Raikabula starred with three tries and Wellington Hurricanes flier Victor Vito got two as New Zealand go in search of their first title this season.
“It’s quite atrocious out there. It’s really slippery,” coach Gordon Tietjens said. “Your concentration level’s got to be right up there.”
South Africa, joint series leaders along with England after wins in Dubai and George, later beat South Korea 29-7.
Kenya came from behind to beat West Indies and Fiji, 11-time victors in Hong Kong, thrashed Taiwan 33-0. Argentina, currently fourth in the series, strolled past the hosts 28-0.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two