■SOCCER
Germany crush UAE
Germany striker Mario Gomez scored four goals to lift his side to a crushing 7-2 win over United Arab Emirates in a friendly in Dubai on Tuesday. Gomez, who had not found the net for his country for more than a year, struck after 35, 45, 47 and 90 minutes to inspire the visitors. Heiko Westermann put the Germans ahead on 29 minutes and Piotr Trochowski and a Faris Juma own goal completed the rout. Ismail Salem and Nawaf Mubarak grabbed second-half consolations for the hosts.
■HORSE RACING
Trainer pays for comments
Australian officials have fined a trainer who threatened to shoot his horses and send their heads to a government minister after a decision to suspend jumps racing in the wake of a string of horse deaths. Racing administrators in the state of Victoria stopped racing last month after three horses died during a country carnival but reinstated the sport less than two weeks later. The suspension had prompted David “Butch” Londregan to tell local media he would “ring the knackery and start shooting his horses straight away” if the review panel moved to ban jumps racing. Londregan also said he would send videos of the shootings and “a few” horse heads to Victoria’s racing minister, the head of the state’s racing regulatory body and animal rights groups. The trainer was fined A$5,000 (US$4,100), of which A$4,000 would be suspended, after he pleaded guilty to “conduct prejudicial to the image of racing,” Racing Victoria spokesman Damian Booth said on Tuesday. “The suspended A$4,000 is reliant on no more derogatory comments until May [next year],” Booth said.
■RUGBY UNION
Rocky returns home
Wallaby flanker Rocky Elsom signed a new two-year deal with the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) yesterday after returning home from a season in Ireland. Elsom left Australia last year to play for Irish province Leinster after the ARU granted him an early release on compassionate grounds. The forward was a big hit in Europe, winning the man of the match award in Leinster’s Heineken Cup win over Leicester, but said he wanted to come home because of the lure of playing for Australia. “Playing for Australia means a lot to me. Playing for the Wallabies is my No. 1 priority,” he said in a statement. Elsom’s new deal will take him through to the end of the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand. He also signed a two-year agreement to play Super 14 rugby for the ACT Brumbies. “When we let Rocky go last year there were personal circumstances that he raised which we took into consideration,” ARU chief executive John O’Neill said. “Rocky has repaid that goodwill by returning when he suggested he might. We were hoping Rocky’s desire to play for the Wallabies would be irresistible and see him back here and available for the 2009 international season.”
■RUGBY UNION
’Bok discards to face Lions
Springbok discards Heinrich Brussow, Meyer Bosman and Adriaan Strauss can remind the national selectors what they’re missing when they run out for Cheetahs against the British and Irish Lions on Saturday. All three, along with prop Wian du Preez, were in a South African XV which beat a Namibian invitation rugby side last Friday, but none made it into the ’Boks squad for the Test series against the Lions. Brussow’s only appearance for South Africa was off the bench in the drubbing of England last November. Strauss played all five of his Tests as a substitute during last year’s Tri-Nations. Bosman played three Tests in 2005-2006.
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