RUGBY: South Africa captain John Smit has been suspended for six weeks for the high tackle that fractured the larynx of France captain Jerome Thion in last Saturday's clash at the Stade de France.

The incident occurred just 12 minutes into the game when Smit charged at Thion and caught him in the throat with his elbow.

The lock was taken to hospital and placed on a ventilator. He will be sidelined for at least six weeks.

Smit was cited for the incident, which was seen by the referee and punished with a penalty. The suspension will start on January 14th, the opening day of the season in South Africa.

TENNIS: Andy Murray has criticised the English Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) for "ruining" his brother Jamie.

The Scottish siblings teamed up to beat England's Greg Rusedski and David Sherwood in the inaugural Aberdeen Cup at the weekend.

And Andy (18), who is 15 months younger than Jamie, said: "My brother is very talented. He was the number two junior in the world when he was 13, then he went down to an LTA school in Cambridge and they ruined him.

"It was their fault."

Jamie is rated 923 in the world rankings compared to Andy's 65.

MOTOR SPORT: Peter Dempsey of Ashbourne has been named the Dunlop Young Racing Driver of the Year Award, writes Brian Foley.

The finalists for the Motorsport Ireland Dunlop Sexton Trophy were Dempsey, Charlie Donnelly (Naas) and Paddy Hogan (Killiney), short-listed from an initial panel of six driver of the month award winners.

Early this month they took a skills test at Mondello Park in a touring car.

Dempsey receives the prize fund of €32,000 to aid him in his career. Donnelly and Hogan received €8,000 and €4,000 respectively.

TENNIS: Former world number one Martina Hingis is to return to the professional circuit next year.

"I was never happy my injuries cut my career short and ultimately forced my decision to step away from tennis," said the 25-year-old Swiss in a statement yesterday.

Hingis, winner of five grand slam singles titles, retired in late 2002. She was the youngest player to reach the top of the world rankings, having achieved the feat aged 16 years six months.

She was the youngest winner of a grand slam and the holder of the Australian, Wimbledon and US Open crowns at 16.