Northampton director of rugby Jim Mallinder hailed the “magnificent” performance of captain Dylan Hartley as the hooker led the Saints to a 38-11 win over Exeter in their opening English Premiership fixture of the new season on Saturday.
England hooker Hartley missed all of Northampton’s pre-season fixtures after receiving an 11-week ban for verbally abusing referee Wayne Barnes during last term’s Premiership final defeat by Leicester.
It was not the first time Hartley had been in disciplinary trouble, but he put those problems to one side on Saturday, scoring the first of Northampton’s five tries after just two minutes.
“I thought he was magnificent today,” Mallinder said of Hartley. “Dylan put in a determined performance today. There has been a lot of talk about him after what happened, but all he can do is play and show what he can do on the field.”
“He has worked very hard during the summer, he has had no pre-season games, so to come in and play like that shows what sort of player he is. He is our leader because he plays and leads by example,” he said.
In the London double-header at Twickenham, Harlequins edged Wasps 16-15 after Wasps’ Andy Goode saw the final kick of the match, a potentially match-winning conversion come back off the post.
In the other half of the double-header, Saracens overpowered London Irish 42-20, while Sale who — won just seven out of 22 league games last season — started the new campaign with a surprise 22-16 victory at Gloucester.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
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