The weekend ahead
Kicking off with football - Cambridge United head to Tamworth looking to remain unbeaten through the week and record a second consecutive away victory. Tamworth are struggling at the bottom of the conference so this should be achievable, if you add to that fact that there star signing Paul Merson has now decided to retire then the U's have a great chance. For a change Rob Newman has virtually a full squad to chose from, with the exception of Bridges (shoulder) and Guy (recalled by Colchester). It will be interesting to see what tactics he chooses to play. After Onibuje's abysmal performance on Tuesday night he may revert back to one up front letting Westcarr do all the running. I really hope this isn't the case we have a good chance here to finish the season on a high and should take the same bold attacking approach we did last weekend. The question will need to be, does he play Onibuje or Medine up front. It could be a chance for the youngster to impress, and give Onibuje something to think about by spending the afternoon on the bench. I hope he does not bring back Mark Peters and keeps the defense the same just to try and get some consistency going. I guess we will know more at 2:30pm tomorrow. For me this is going to be a 1-1 draw, I have supported them too long now to get that optimistic.
Rugby Union - England renew their Six Nations campaign as they travel to France on Sunday. The team by and large are being given a chance to redeem themselves after that dreadful loss to Scotland two weeks ago. The most significant change is Matt Dawson starting in the No. 9 Jersey. Although he is currently in his mid-thirties I see this as the right move for Andy Robinson to make. In the Scotland game the backs were getting the ball much quicker when he was on the pitch and the Scotland scrum half was under a lot more pressure. With France performing out of sorts in their last three games the secret to beating them may well be to get quick ball to the backs to stretch their suspect defence. Dawson is the man to do this for England, and if Ellis can take some time to watch how he does it, it will help cement his position as the one of the two best English scrum halfÂs. It will not be easy to win in Paris and you can bet that the French will be up for this game more than any other game and the expectation will be that whoever wins this will win the Six Nations. Optimistically on this one I am going to take England by 1-12 points.
The Wellington Hurricanes also play on Sunday in the second match of their South African tour. They still lie second in the table despite their loss to the cheetahs last week. They also have the added bonus of having the Indian sign over their rivals having beaten them in their last four meetings. They need to bounce back in this game and have made five changes to the team that started last weeks game. Paul Tito and Rodney SoÂoialo return after suspensions. Changes in the backs see Tane TuÂipulotu replace Tana Umaga at second five-eighth, Isaia Toeava come in for Shannon Paku at fullback and David Holwell take the place of Jimmy Gopperth at first five-eighth. The loss of Umaga as always will be hard for the Hurricanes, but TuÂipulotu is a ready made replacement. The defence will have to have a big game again this week and cannot afford to disappear after sixty minutes. Discipline is another factor where the Hurricanes will have to improve. This has always been an issue for them and this season could be their biggest problem. If they give penalties away in tight games which can be kicked then they are going to have to expect to lose a lot more games. Bringing in Holwell may also be a good move as he is one of the most experienced Super 12\14 players and will marshal the troops effectively to put pressure on the Stormers. So if they defend well and can play eighty minutes with 15 men I will take them to sneak a win by 1-12 points.
The Northampton Saints return to action on Saturday against Gloucester and this is going to be a tough game with Gloucester currently sitting in the top four. It doesnÂt help that this is also International weekend so they will be without key players like Ben Cohen and Steve Thompson. There is no news on the team yet but I expect Paul Grayson to name Bruce Reihana in the starting line up after his return from New Zealand. The club has been exceptional in allowing Bruce the time off he needs to come to terms with the death of his older brother. The fact that this is International week may play into NorthamptonÂs hands as Gloucester will also be missing key players to the home nations and in addition they will also be losing players to the Commonwealth games. This could be a must win game for them especially after the defeat two weeks ago. Bristol and Bath are currently breathing down their necks so they will need at least four points from this game to hold them at bay. Gloucester will be playing a lot of youngsters and you can expect they will be eager to impress, but the loss of their key players will hurt them more than NorthamptonÂs. So I predict a Saints win by 1-12 points
Rugby League - I previewed the Warriors chances this season in the NRL yesterday so will concentrate on Warrington who have to travel to Wigan on Friday night. This is a massive game for both sides as they currently both sit on won 1 lost 3 games. Warrington can be pleased with their efforts over the last two week in beating Hull and troubling St. Helens for long spells last Friday. They need to keep this up to pressurise Wigan tonight. An early score would help settle the nerves. Paul Cullen has virtually a full strength pack to pick from tonight with Rob Parker returning from injury. Also back in the squad is Logan Swann, a much under-rated player in my opinion, who should help in gaining the hard yards. The move of the camp is positive as Paul Cullen noted when he said "We have improved with every outing since round one. Unfortunately we came up against the best side in the competition last week - and we were one score off them. It is a mark of our progress that we were very disappointed we didnÂt win. The mood in the camp is positive." Lets hope this is the case and they can turn over a struggling Wigan side. Some elements of the Warrington crowd are starting to get worried about Paul Cullen. I think he needs to be given time. Sacking coaches is a gut reaction taken in football, itÂs not needed in Super League. Wolves to win by 1-12pts
Cricket - The second test between England and India will head towards the predicted draw this weekend. With virtually no play on Friday England sit at 200-5 in their first inning and will look to push onto a high total. Personally I cannot se any result other than a draw if anymore time is lost. This may not be a bad thing as it will give Flintoff time to let Lee Plunkett get used to bowling on Indian wickets. I am surprised he was added to the team ahead of Ian Blackwell as India chose to use three spinners. That would indicate to me that they expect the pitch to be turning early on in proceedings, so having four seamers could have counted against England. More worrying at the moment is the form of Strauss, he is starting to look like a player who can only perform when batting in England. Given the form of Alastair Cook in the first test he needs to be looking posting some good scores to be assured of his place for the summer test series. I predict an England total of around 340 will mean the match will be a draw, then again maybe it will rain all day again tomorrow
Basketball - Well since I started blogging about them the Golden State Warriors have won one of fifteen games. So I am going to stop until they win another game, which is unlikely to be this weekend
Rugby Union - England renew their Six Nations campaign as they travel to France on Sunday. The team by and large are being given a chance to redeem themselves after that dreadful loss to Scotland two weeks ago. The most significant change is Matt Dawson starting in the No. 9 Jersey. Although he is currently in his mid-thirties I see this as the right move for Andy Robinson to make. In the Scotland game the backs were getting the ball much quicker when he was on the pitch and the Scotland scrum half was under a lot more pressure. With France performing out of sorts in their last three games the secret to beating them may well be to get quick ball to the backs to stretch their suspect defence. Dawson is the man to do this for England, and if Ellis can take some time to watch how he does it, it will help cement his position as the one of the two best English scrum halfÂs. It will not be easy to win in Paris and you can bet that the French will be up for this game more than any other game and the expectation will be that whoever wins this will win the Six Nations. Optimistically on this one I am going to take England by 1-12 points.
The Wellington Hurricanes also play on Sunday in the second match of their South African tour. They still lie second in the table despite their loss to the cheetahs last week. They also have the added bonus of having the Indian sign over their rivals having beaten them in their last four meetings. They need to bounce back in this game and have made five changes to the team that started last weeks game. Paul Tito and Rodney SoÂoialo return after suspensions. Changes in the backs see Tane TuÂipulotu replace Tana Umaga at second five-eighth, Isaia Toeava come in for Shannon Paku at fullback and David Holwell take the place of Jimmy Gopperth at first five-eighth. The loss of Umaga as always will be hard for the Hurricanes, but TuÂipulotu is a ready made replacement. The defence will have to have a big game again this week and cannot afford to disappear after sixty minutes. Discipline is another factor where the Hurricanes will have to improve. This has always been an issue for them and this season could be their biggest problem. If they give penalties away in tight games which can be kicked then they are going to have to expect to lose a lot more games. Bringing in Holwell may also be a good move as he is one of the most experienced Super 12\14 players and will marshal the troops effectively to put pressure on the Stormers. So if they defend well and can play eighty minutes with 15 men I will take them to sneak a win by 1-12 points.
The Northampton Saints return to action on Saturday against Gloucester and this is going to be a tough game with Gloucester currently sitting in the top four. It doesnÂt help that this is also International weekend so they will be without key players like Ben Cohen and Steve Thompson. There is no news on the team yet but I expect Paul Grayson to name Bruce Reihana in the starting line up after his return from New Zealand. The club has been exceptional in allowing Bruce the time off he needs to come to terms with the death of his older brother. The fact that this is International week may play into NorthamptonÂs hands as Gloucester will also be missing key players to the home nations and in addition they will also be losing players to the Commonwealth games. This could be a must win game for them especially after the defeat two weeks ago. Bristol and Bath are currently breathing down their necks so they will need at least four points from this game to hold them at bay. Gloucester will be playing a lot of youngsters and you can expect they will be eager to impress, but the loss of their key players will hurt them more than NorthamptonÂs. So I predict a Saints win by 1-12 points
Rugby League - I previewed the Warriors chances this season in the NRL yesterday so will concentrate on Warrington who have to travel to Wigan on Friday night. This is a massive game for both sides as they currently both sit on won 1 lost 3 games. Warrington can be pleased with their efforts over the last two week in beating Hull and troubling St. Helens for long spells last Friday. They need to keep this up to pressurise Wigan tonight. An early score would help settle the nerves. Paul Cullen has virtually a full strength pack to pick from tonight with Rob Parker returning from injury. Also back in the squad is Logan Swann, a much under-rated player in my opinion, who should help in gaining the hard yards. The move of the camp is positive as Paul Cullen noted when he said "We have improved with every outing since round one. Unfortunately we came up against the best side in the competition last week - and we were one score off them. It is a mark of our progress that we were very disappointed we didnÂt win. The mood in the camp is positive." Lets hope this is the case and they can turn over a struggling Wigan side. Some elements of the Warrington crowd are starting to get worried about Paul Cullen. I think he needs to be given time. Sacking coaches is a gut reaction taken in football, itÂs not needed in Super League. Wolves to win by 1-12pts
Cricket - The second test between England and India will head towards the predicted draw this weekend. With virtually no play on Friday England sit at 200-5 in their first inning and will look to push onto a high total. Personally I cannot se any result other than a draw if anymore time is lost. This may not be a bad thing as it will give Flintoff time to let Lee Plunkett get used to bowling on Indian wickets. I am surprised he was added to the team ahead of Ian Blackwell as India chose to use three spinners. That would indicate to me that they expect the pitch to be turning early on in proceedings, so having four seamers could have counted against England. More worrying at the moment is the form of Strauss, he is starting to look like a player who can only perform when batting in England. Given the form of Alastair Cook in the first test he needs to be looking posting some good scores to be assured of his place for the summer test series. I predict an England total of around 340 will mean the match will be a draw, then again maybe it will rain all day again tomorrow
Basketball - Well since I started blogging about them the Golden State Warriors have won one of fifteen games. So I am going to stop until they win another game, which is unlikely to be this weekend
posted by Sports Potato at 6:17 PM
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